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WONTUMI SPENDS NIGHT IN CUSTODY AFTER FAILING TO MEET ₵25M BAIL- Lawyer CONFIRMS
NPP’S WONTUMI LOCKED UP OVERNIGHT OVER ¢25m Bail in Mining Scandal:
The Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi Boasiako, widely known as Chairman Wontumi, has spent the night in police custody after failing to satisfy bail conditions totaling ₵25 million in two separate illegal mining-related cases.
The embattled politician appeared before the Criminal Division of the Accra High Court on Tuesday to answer a series of charges filed by the Office of the Attorney-General for alleged violations of Ghana’s mining regulations.
In the first case, Wontumi was placed on a stop list and granted ₵15 million bail after pleading not guilty to six counts, including unauthorized assignment of mineral rights and facilitation of unlicensed mining operations. He stood trial alongside his company, Akonta Mining Company Limited, which also denied all charges. Another accused person, Kwame Antwi, is currently on the run.
Later in the day, Wontumi was arraigned in a second case, where he faced seven additional charges together with four others over alleged illegal mining activities within the Tano Numire Forest Reserve at Samareboi in the Western Region.
According to his lawyer, Andy Appiah-Kubi, Wontumi was unable to meet the stringent bail requirements and will remain in police custody while efforts continue to fulfill the court’s conditions.
