This was after failing to meet a ₵25 million bail imposed in two separate cases before the Criminal Division of the High Court in Accra. Earlier t
This was after failing to meet a ₵25 million bail imposed in two separate cases before the Criminal Division of the High Court in Accra.
Earlier today, in the day he was placed on a stop list and granted GH₵15 million bail after pleading not guilty to six mining-related charges.
As part of the bail conditions for Bernard Antwi Boasiako, also known as Chairman Wontumi, who is the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) and owner of Akonta Mining Company Limited, he is to be placed on a stop list at all entry points.
Chairman Wontumi has been charged on different illegal mining related offenses at the High Court in Accra and has been granted bail.
In the first case being heard at the Criminal Division of the High Court, presided over by Justice Audrey Kocuvie-Tay, Chairman Wontumi pleaded not guilty to the charges.
After hearing arguments from the prosecution and lawyers for the accused, Justice Kocuvie-Tay admitted Chairman Wontumi to bail in the sum of GH¢15 million with three sureties. The three sureties are to deposit copies of their Ghana Card, with the court registrar, including their digital addresses.
Chairman Wontumi is to report to the case investigator every first and third Monday of every month. This follows six criminal charges filed against him by the Office of the Attorney-General over alleged breaches of Ghana’s mining laws.
Case two conditions
In the second case, the court presided over by Justice Ruby Aryeetey, admitted the accused to bail in the sum of GH¢10 million with two sureties, one to be justified with landed property.
The accused persons are to deposit their passports at the court registry.
He is accused of assigning mineral rights without approval and facilitating unlicensed mining activities.
Wontumi, who appeared before the court alongside Akonta Mining Company Limited, his firm, pleaded not guilty to all six counts. A second accused person, Kwame Antwi, is currently at large.
Later in the day, Chairman Wontumi pleaded not guilty to another seven charges leveled against him and four others over alleged illegal mining activities in the Tano Nimire Forest Reserve at Samreboi in the Western Region.
This forms part of a second criminal case filed against him, in which Wontumi and others are accused of undertaking mining operations without a licence, felling trees, and erecting structures within a forest reserve.
However, these conditions have not been met, and he will be spending custody.
Meanwhile, Chairman Wontumi has pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
The court has given the prosecution three weeks to file all necessary documents they intend to rely on.
The case has been adjourned to October 28, 2025.