The State has notified the High Court in Accra of a request to commence plea negotiations with the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, also known as “Wontumi”, in a criminal case involving allegations of fraud and financial loss to Ghana EXIM Bank, court documents show.

The notice, filed on 11 June 2026, and signed by Deputy Attorney-General Dr Justice Srem-Sai, indicates that the request for plea bargaining was initiated by counsel for the first accused person, lawyer Andy Appiah-Kubi, in a letter dated 5 June 2026.

The Attorney-General’s office has therefore formally informed the court of the commencement of plea negotiation procedures under Section 35(2) of the Courts Act, 1993 (Act 459), and requested that the notice be served on the accused persons or their lawyers.

The case before the High Court stems from criminal charges filed against Antwi-Boasiako and Wontumi Farms Limited over an alleged multi-million-cedi agricultural loan fraud involving Ghana EXIM Bank.

According to court filings and charge sheets, the prosecution alleges that in 2018, Antwi-Boasiako, acting as managing director of Wontumi Farms Limited, obtained a credit facility of about GHC18.7 million from EXIM Bank for a large-scale commercial farming project.

Prosecutors allege that the businessman misrepresented the existence of large-scale farmland and project capacity, including claims of a 100,000-acre concession and projections of thousands of jobs.

The state further alleges that supporting documents submitted to secure the loan included falsified records, including a “board resolution” dated before the company was legally incorporated.

Investigators also allege that a document presented as proof of machinery purchase was altered from a pro-forma invoice into a receipt in order to justify disbursement of funds.

According to the prosecution, no farm operations were ever established, no land was cultivated, and no agricultural machinery was purchased, despite disbursements totalling more than GHC14 million by March 2018.

The state further alleges that funds were diverted from company accounts into personal accounts and used for other business interests, forming the basis of money laundering charges between 2018 and 2022.

Prosecutors say the alleged scheme resulted in a financial loss exceeding GHC30 million to Ghana EXIM Bank in principal and liabilities.

Efforts by the bank to recover the funds allegedly failed, prompting investigations by the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), which led to the arrest and charging of Antwi-Boasiako in May 2026.

He faces four counts, including defrauding by false pretence, uttering forged documents, money laundering, and causing financial loss to a public body. A co-accused, named as Wontumi Farms Limited director Thomas Antwi-Boasiako, is said to be at large.

Antwi-Boasiako, a prominent businessman and politician, is also the NPP Ashanti Regional Chairman and a contender for the party’s national chairmanship position.