Deputy General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Haruna Mohammed, has come to the defence of Ashanti Regional Chairman, Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, over criminal charges linked to an Exim Bank loan facility.
Speaking on Accra-based Channel One TV, Mr Mohammed argued that if there were any irregularities in the approval of the loan, responsibility should lie with the bank and not the beneficiary.
He also accused Attorney-General Dominic Ayine of attempting to criminalise political opponents before the courts have fully determined the case.
According to him, Chairman Wontumi followed the proper procedures in securing the facility and is now being unfairly targeted.
“The Ashanti Regional Chairman did not pick a cutlass to go to the bank to pick the loan. If for anything at all, he went through the due process,” he said.
“And if they think that something is wrong with regards to how he was given the loan, then it must be the bank, not him. In this particular circumstance, you can see that it’s a clear target,” he added.
Chairman Wontumi, together with Thomas Antwi Boasiako, who is reportedly at large, and Wontumi Farms Limited, has been charged in connection with an alleged multi-million cedi fraud and money laundering scheme linked to a loan facility from Exim Bank.
Court documents filed at the High Court in Accra indicate that the accused persons are facing four charges, including defrauding by false pretence, uttering forged documents, money laundering, and causing financial loss to a public institution.
According to prosecutors, Wontumi Farms Limited secured about GH¢14.3 million from Exim Bank in 2018 under the pretext of establishing a large-scale farming project.
The prosecution further alleges that the company applied for a GH¢19 million loan facility using documents which claimed it had acquired a 100,000-acre parcel of land for the proposed agricultural venture.
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