The Attorney-General has filed an amended charge sheet in the ongoing GH¢30 million Ghana Export-Import Bank (Exim Bank) case involving former New Patriotic Party (NPP) Ashanti Regional Chairman Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi.
The prosecution on Tuesday, September 22, 2026, asked the Accra High Court to withdraw the charge sheet filed on May 15 and substitute it with a new one filed on September 22.
The development follows the failure of plea negotiations between the prosecution and the defence, which had been ongoing for several months.
The amended charge sheet retains the charge of uttering a forged document under Section 169 of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29), but provides further particulars identifying the allegedly forged document as a pro-forma invoice belonging to EPSONS Ghana Limited.
According to the prosecution, Wontumi allegedly used the document in 2017, knowing it was not genuine, with the intention of defrauding officials of Exim Bank and obtaining GH¢4 million from the bank.
The amended charge sheet contains five counts, including defrauding by false pretence, two counts of uttering a forged document, money laundering and intentionally causing financial loss to a public body.
The prosecution alleges that Wontumi, together with Thomas Antwi-Boasiako and Wontumi Farms Limited, obtained approximately GH¢14.302 million from Exim Bank in 2018 through false pretences and subsequently caused the bank to suffer losses amounting to GH¢30 million between 2018 and 2022.
Wontumi has denied wrongdoing in relation to the case.
When the matter was called on Tuesday, Principal State Attorney Joshua Sackey informed the court that copies of the new charge sheet had been served on the accused persons’ lawyers.
Counsel holding brief for Samuel Atta Akyea, Nana Nti Ofori-Debrah, however, told the court that he had only just received the amended charge sheet and had not yet had an opportunity to peruse it or consult the substantive counsel.
He therefore asked the court to defer the substitution of the charge sheet and the taking of pleas to a later date.
The court subsequently adjourned the case to October 13, 2026. The accused persons are expected to take their pleas afresh when the case resumes because of the amendment to the charges.
Wontumi is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence following his conviction in the separate Samreboi illegal mining case.
The Accra High Court found him guilty of assigning mineral rights without the required prior ministerial approval and purposely facilitating an unlicensed mining operation. The two 20-year sentences were ordered to run concurrently.