Plea bargain negotiations involving New Patriotic Party (NPP) Ashanti Regional Chairman, Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, and two others have not yet resulted in an agreement.
Deputy Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Justice Srem-Sai, confirmed that the prosecution and the accused persons are yet to reach a plea agreement ahead of the expiration of the statutory 30-day period for concluding negotiations.
In a Facebook post, Justice Srem-Sai said the deadline for completing the plea bargain process in The Republic v Bernard Antwi-Boasiako & 2 Others, popularly known as the EXIM Bank trial, will expire next week.
“The statutory 30-day period for concluding the plea bargain in The Republic v Bernard Antwi-Boasiako & 2 Others (the Exim Bank trial) will end next week. I can confirm that we have not reached a plea agreement yet,” he stated.
His comments follow an earlier decision by the High Court in Accra to adjourn the case to July 27 to allow the parties more time to continue discussions.
Chairman Wontumi and his co-accused are facing charges linked to an alleged GH¢14 million loan facility obtained from EXIM Bank for a farming project.
The prosecution alleges that between 2018 and 2022, Bernard Antwi-Boasiako and Thomas Antwi-Boasiako secured about GH¢14.3 million from the bank through Wontumi Farms Limited using false representations.
They are also accused of submitting a forged receipt in support of an application for an additional GH¢4 million facility and benefiting from funds allegedly obtained through fraudulent means.
The accused persons have been charged with offences including obtaining money by false pretences and money laundering, with the prosecution alleging that the transactions resulted in financial loss of more than GH¢30 million to EXIM Bank.
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