Former New Patriotic Party (NPP) Ashanti Regional Chairman Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, and Wontumi Farms have filed a suit at the High Court seeking to halt criminal proceedings against them over a loan dispute with Ghana Export-Import Bank (Ghana Exim Bank).
The plaintiffs are asking the court to declare that the matter is a civil debt dispute rather than a criminal case, arguing that the disagreement centres on the repayment of a loan obtained to finance a farming project.
Ghana Exim Bank, the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) and the Attorney General have been named as defendants in the suit.
The legal action follows criminal proceedings against Chairman Wontumi and Wontumi Farms over alleged offences including defrauding by false pretences, uttering a forged document, money laundering and intentionally causing financial loss to the state.
In their statement of claim, the plaintiffs accuse EOCO of exceeding its mandate by pursuing the matter as a criminal case, arguing that the office is effectively acting as a debt recovery agency.
Represented by lawyer Samuel Atta-Akyea, they state that the loan facility, valued at more than GH¢18 million, was secured to support a farming venture.
According to the plaintiffs, a 10,000-acre parcel of land belonging to Wontumi Farms was pledged as mortgage security for the facility. Chairman Wontumi also provided a personal guarantee to repay the loan in the event of default, while Ghana Exim Bank allegedly undertook to arrange insurance cover for the facility.
They contend that the farming project suffered substantial losses and ultimately failed to generate the expected returns.
The plaintiffs further claim that although the farm recorded a bumper maize harvest at one point, flooding caused by four rivers surrounding the property destroyed the farmland, deepening their financial difficulties.
They allege that Ghana Exim Bank was notified of the challenges and assured them that steps would be taken to activate the insurance arrangement to settle the outstanding loan.
On the strength of these claims, Chairman Wontumi and Wontumi Farms maintain that the loan was legitimately obtained and that the difficulties encountered in repaying it should be resolved through civil debt recovery proceedings rather than criminal prosecution.
They are therefore seeking a declaration from the High Court that the dispute should be treated as a civil matter.
The plaintiffs are also asking the court to compel Ghana Exim Bank to provide an account of the outstanding loan balance and pursue recovery through the mortgaged property, Chairman Wontumi’s personal guarantee or the insurance cover which they claim the bank was required to obtain.
