Bernard Antwi Boasiako, widely known as Chairman Wontumi, the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), is currently under active investigation for a litany of severe criminal offences, including fraud, causing financial loss to the state, and money laundering.
This stunning disclosure was made by the Deputy Attorney General, Justice Srem-Sai, in a public post on X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday.
Justice Srem-Sai’s revelation outlines a dual investigative approach by the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), working in close concert with international law enforcement bodies.
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“Suspect BERNARD ANTWI BOASIAKO, a.k.a. Chairman Wontumi, is under investigation for various criminal offences (including fraud, causing financial loss to the State, and money laundering),” the Deputy Attorney General’s post stated.
The ongoing criminal probe is not an isolated endeavour. It is running “concurrently with asset recovery processes,” Justice Srem-Sai clarified, designed to “prevent further dissipation of what law enforcement agencies strongly suspect to be proceeds of crime.” This forms part of efforts to reclaim any assets believed to have been acquired through illicit means.
Perhaps the most alarming aspect of the Deputy Attorney General’s announcement is the indication that Chairman Wontumi is also the subject of a broader investigation targeting a “larger international organised crime scheme.”
Justice Srem-Sai emphasized, “EOCO is assiduously working with our international law enforcement partners on this second strand of criminal investigations.”
Chairman Wontumi was picked up by EOCO last Thursday shortly after appearing at the National Bureau of Investigation (NIB) for questioning and has since been in their custody. Reports suggest he is sick and on admission at the NIB clinic.
In a related development, the Minority in Parliament abandoned their parliamentary duties Thursday to protest at EOCO offices at the arrest and detention of the NPP Ashanti Chairman
By Osumanu Al-Hassan/thenewsbulletin24.com