The trial involving businessman Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, popularly known as Wontumi, and two other accused persons has been adjourned to October 13, 2026, after the prosecution amended one of the charges against them.
The amendment specifies the company whose pro-forma invoice the prosecution alleges was forged and subsequently used to obtain funds from the Export-Import Bank of Ghana (Exim Bank).
When the case came before the Accra High Court on Tuesday, September 22, Principal State Attorney Joshua Sackey informed the court that the prosecution had filed a new charge sheet and served copies on counsel for the accused persons.
He asked the court to withdraw the charge sheet filed on May 15, 2026, and substitute it with the amended version filed on September 22.
“We wish to withdraw the charge sheet which we filed on the 15th May, 2026, and substitute same with the charge sheet which we filed on the 22nd of Sept. 2026,” Mr Sackey told the court.
The amended charge sheet, dated September 19, 2026, maintains the charge of uttering a forged document under Section 169 of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29).
The particulars now identify the allegedly forged document as a pro-forma invoice of EPSONS GHANA LIMITED.
The prosecution alleges that Mr Antwi-Boasiako, in 2017 within the Greater Accra Region, used the document knowing it was not genuine, with the intention of defrauding Exim Bank officials and obtaining GH¢4 million from the bank.
However, defence counsel holding brief for Samuel Atta Akyea for the first and third accused persons, Nana Nti Ofori-Debrah, asked the court to defer the substitution and plea-taking.
He said he had only just received the amended charge sheet and needed time to study it and present it to the substantive counsel.
“Indeed I have just received a copy of the new charge sheet. I am yet to peruse it and also show it to the substantive counsel,” he said.
“In the circumstance, I humbly pray that both the substitution and the taking of plea should be taken at the adjourned date not too remote from now.”
The court granted the request and adjourned the case to October 13, 2026, at 10:30 a.m. The accused persons are expected to take their pleas afresh following the amendment.
The case involves Mr Antwi-Boasiako, Thomas Antwi-Boasiako and Wontumi Farms Limited. They are facing a five-count charge comprising defrauding by false pretence, two counts of uttering a forged document, money laundering and intentionally causing financial loss to a public body.
The prosecution alleges that the accused persons obtained about GH¢14.302 million from Exim Bank in 2018 by false pretences and caused the bank to suffer a loss of GH¢30 million between 2018 and 2022. The allegations are yet to be determined by the court.
