No Plea Deal Yet in Wontumi's EXIM Bank Trial - Srem-Sai

And Ghana's Deputy Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Justice Srem-Sai, has confirmed that the prosecution and Chairman Wontumi have not reached a plea agreement yet. 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.

But here's the deal: Chairman Wontumi and his co-accused are facing charges relating 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.

So, what does this mean? The two brothers are also accused of presenting a forged receipt in support of an application for an additional GH¢4 million facility and benefiting from funds allegedly obtained through fraudulent means. According to sources, the accused persons face charges including obtaining money by false pretences and money laundering, with the prosecution alleging that the transactions caused financial loss of more than GH¢30 million to EXIM Bank.

The update follows an earlier decision by the High Court in Accra to adjourn the matter to July 27 to allow the parties to continue negotiations. Chairman Wontumi and his co-accused are yet to reach a plea agreement ahead of the expiration of the statutory 30-day period for concluding negotiations.

You may wonder who is Thomas Antwi-Boasiako - he's Chairman Wontumi's co-accused brother who allegedly benefited from the loan scam. His role in the scandal is yet to be fully revealed.

Justice Srem-Sai has confirmed that 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.

The Ghanaian public continues to watch this trial closely as it reveals the extent of the alleged loan scam and who benefited from it. The next step in this trial will be crucial to determining the fate of Chairman Wontumi and his co-accused.

Blockquote: '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,'

• Deputy Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Justice Srem-Sai.