The Attorney General, Dominic Ayine, has accused the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, of submitting forged documents to fraudulently secure a GH¢4 million loan from the Ghana Export-Import (EXIM) Bank.

Speaking at the Accountability Series on Monday, December 22, Mr Ayine disclosed that investigations conducted by the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) confirmed that a receipt submitted by Chairman Wontumi to justify the loan was fabricated.

According to the Attorney General, on March 18, 2018, Chairman Wontumi presented a document purportedly issued by Casama Enterprise as proof of payment for the purchase of farming and earth-moving equipment, including bulldozers and excavators. However, EOCO’s investigations established that the document was not authentic.

Mr Ayine revealed that Chairman Wontumi had initially obtained only a proforma invoice from Casama Enterprise, indicating an intention to purchase the equipment. Instead of making payment, he allegedly altered the document by replacing the word “invoice” with “receipt” and submitted it to EXIM Bank as evidence of payment after the loan had already been disbursed.

The owner of Casama Enterprise reportedly confirmed to EOCO investigators that no payment was ever received and that the only document issued to Wontumi Ghana Limited was a proforma invoice.

The Attorney General described the act as a serious breach of trust and a troubling example of document falsification in public financial transactions.