The Attorney-General, Dominic Ayine, has alleged that the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, submitted a forged receipt to the Ghana Export-Import (EXIM) Bank to secure a GH¢4 million loan for the purported purchase of farming equipment.
Speaking at the government’s Accountability Series on Monday, December 22, Mr Ayine said investigations by the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) confirmed that the receipt presented to the bank was fabricated.
According to the Attorney-General, on March 18, 2018, Chairman Wontumi submitted a document purportedly issued by Casama Enterprise as proof of payment for farming equipment, including bulldozers and excavators.
However, EOCO’s investigations revealed that the document was not authentic.
Mr Ayine explained that Chairman Wontumi had earlier obtained a proforma invoice from Casama Enterprise as part of plans to purchase the equipment. Instead of making payment, he allegedly altered the document by replacing the word “invoice” with “receipt” and submitted it to EXIM Bank as evidence of payment after the loan had already been disbursed.
He disclosed that the owner of Casama Enterprise confirmed to EOCO investigators that no payment was ever made for the equipment.
“The owner of Casama Enterprise confirmed to EOCO investigators that the only document issued to Wontumi Ghana Limited, through Chairman Wontumi, was a proforma invoice and not a receipt,” Mr Ayine stated.
The Attorney-General further noted that despite several follow-up calls by Casama Enterprise to complete the transaction, Chairman Wontumi never returned.
“The forged receipt submitted to EXIM Bank falsely suggested that Casama Enterprise had received GH¢4 million for the purchase of farming equipment and earth-moving machinery,” he added.
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