Lawyers for former New Patriotic Party (NPP) Ashanti Regional Chairman Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, have asked the Accra High Court to declare that the Exim Bank matter against their client is civil rather than criminal.
They argue that the defendants have improperly presented a civil dispute as a criminal case and have filed an application seeking a formal declaration to that effect.
The lawyers are also seeking an order for accounts to establish the amount owed to the 1st Defendant by the 1st Plaintiff in relation to loans advanced between 16 January 2018 and 28 October 2020.
Their application further asks the court to declare that the collateral security and insurance cover supporting the loans are sufficient to settle the debt. They want the 1st Defendant ordered to apply those securities and the insurance cover to clear the outstanding amount.
The application also seeks any other relief the court considers just, together with costs, including lawyers’ professional fees on a full indemnity basis.
Mr Antwi-Boasiako is facing the case alongside Thomas Antwi-Boasiako and Wontumi Farms Limited over an alleged GH¢30 million loss to Exim Bank.
The five charges include 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 Mr Antwi-Boasiako and Mr Thomas Antwi-Boasiako obtained about GH¢14.302 million from Exim Bank in 2018 through false pretences. It also alleges that the accused caused the bank to lose GH¢30 million between 2018 and 2022.
Amended charge sheet
The High Court adjourned the case to 13 October 2026 after the prosecution amended the charge sheet to identify the company whose pro-forma invoice was allegedly forged.
When the case was called last Tuesday, Principal State Attorney Joshua Sackey said the prosecution had filed and served a new charge sheet on the accused persons’ lawyers.
He asked the court to withdraw the charge sheet filed on 15 May 2026 and replace it with the version filed on 22 September 2026.
“My Lady respectfully, we have filed a new charge sheet this morning, and we have given a copy of the charge sheet to counsel for the accused persons,” he said.
“We wish to withdraw the charge sheet, which we filed on May 15, 2026, and substitute the same with the charge sheet, which we filed on September 22, 2026,” he added.
The amended document, dated 19 September 2026, retains the charge of uttering a forged document under Section 169 of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29).
It now states that the document allegedly forged was a pro-forma invoice belonging to EPSONS GHANA LIMITED. According to the prosecution, Mr Antwi-Boasiako used the invoice in 2017, within the Greater Accra Region, knowing it was not genuine, to defraud Exim Bank officials and obtain GH¢4 million.
Because of the amendment, the accused persons are expected to enter their pleas afresh when the case resumes at 10:30 a.m. on 13 October 2026.
Nana Nti Ofori-Debrah, holding brief for Samuel Atta Akyea for the first and third accused persons, said he had only just received the new charge sheet and had not yet reviewed it with the substantive counsel.
He asked the court to postpone both the substitution of the charge sheet and the taking of pleas to the next hearing.
The court subsequently adjourned the case to 13 October 2026.
