Wontumi still faces 2 major court cases despite 20-year jail sentence

• Chairman Wontumi still faces two separate criminal cases despite his 20-year prison sentence in the Samreboi illegal mining case.

• The pending cases involve alleged illegal mining in the Tano Nimiri Forest Reserve and an alleged GH¢30 million EXIM Bank fraud, with plea bargain negotiations ongoing in the latter.

• The unresolved cases mean the Ashanti Regional NPP Chairman's legal challenges are expected to continue even after his conviction in one of Ghana's most high-profile galamsey prosecutions.

Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, may have been convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison in the Samreboi illegal mining case, but his legal battles are not yet over.

READ ALSO: Chairman Wontumi jailed for 20 years after conviction on 6 illegal mining charges

The Ashanti Regional Chairman of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) is still facing 2 separate criminal cases before the courts, one involving alleged illegal mining activities in the Tano Nimiri Forest Reserve and another over an alleged GH¢30 million Ghana Export-Import (EXIM) Bank fraud.

This means that despite the conclusion of the Samreboi mining trial, Chairman Wontumi remains at the centre of multiple high-profile legal proceedings.

One of the remaining cases relates to alleged illegal mining activities in the Tano Nimiri Forest Reserve, where Chairman Wontumi is accused of offences connected to mining in the protected forest area. The case, which is separate from the Samreboi prosecution that resulted in his conviction, is still before the courts and has not yet been determined.

READ ALSO: Final moments before Chairman Wontumi was taken into custody (Video)

In that case, the Attorney General alleges that Akonta Mining alongside its officials carried out mining in a protected forest reserve contrary to Ghana’s mining and Forestry laws.

Chairman Wontumi is also standing trial in an Accra High Court over an alleged GH¢30 million EXIM Bank loan facility obtained for a farming project.

Unlike the Samreboi case, this matter has not proceeded to full trial because both the prosecution and the defence are engaged in plea bargain negotiations. The court has adjourned proceedings to allow the discussions to continue, with an update expected when the matter returns.

According to prosecutors, Bernard Antwi Boasiako, together with Wontumi Farms Limited and another accused person, allegedly obtained more than GH¢14.3 million from EXIM Bank between 2018 and 2022 under false pretenses for a proposed farming project.

READ ALSO: NPP leadership holds emergency meeting to review Wontumi’s 20 years conviction

The prosecution also alleges forged documents were used to support an application for an additional GH¢4 million facility and that the transactions resulted in financial losses exceeding GH¢30 million.

The charges include defrauding by false pretences, uttering forged documents, money laundering and intentionally causing financial loss to a public body.

Earlier this month, prosecutors informed the court that plea negotiations were still ongoing, while both the State and the defence asked for more time to conclude discussions. The court subsequently adjourned the case to receive an update on whether an agreement can be reached or whether the trial should continue.

Justice Audrey Kocuvie-Tay of the Criminal Division of the High Court convicted Chairman Wontumi on all 6 charges in the Samreboi mining case.

The court sentenced him to 20 years' imprisonment and imposed a fine of 10,000 penalty units. Should he fail to pay the fine, he will serve an additional three years in prison, although the court ordered that both custodial terms run concurrently.

He was convicted of assigning mineral rights without the required ministerial approval and intentionally facilitating an unlicensed mining operation, contrary to the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703), as amended.

Following the judgment, Chairman Wontumi was transferred from the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) Headquarters to Nsawam Medium Security Prison to begin serving his sentence.