Chairman Wontumi’s Bank Accounts Frozen Over Alleged Financial Irregularities Amid Galamsey Probe

• The Financial Intelligence Centre has reportedly frozen Chairman Wontumi's bank accounts
• The government action was done in line with Section 56(1) of the Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2020 (Act 1044)
• The politician is being investigated over suspected money laundering and related financial misconduct

The Financial Intelligence Centre has reportedly frozen all bank accounts linked to Bernard Antwi Boasiako, aka Chairman Wontumi, amid allegations of financial irregularities.

The accounts of Boasiako's mining company, Akonta Mining, have also been frozen.

3news reported that the action was initiated under Section 56(1) of the Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2020 (Act 1044).

This section authorises the Financial Intelligence Centre to restrict access to accounts with reasonable suspicion of illicit financial activity.

The Financial Intelligence Centre instructed that all transactions involving Boasiako, Akonta Mining, and Hallmark Civil Engineering Limited be immediately halted.

The move is part of a broader investigation into suspected money laundering and related financial misconduct.

Boasiako currently serves as the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

How has Wontumi landed in trouble?

On Good Friday, police arrested 51 persons in an anti-galamsey raid in which excavators, pump-action guns and other mining equipment were also seized.

The government said the illegal activity had links to Akonta Mining. Boasiako and his firm have long faced allegations about illegal mining.

These links led Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, to declare that Akonta Mining would lose its right to mine in Ghana.

The Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Dominic Ayine, has taken over the investigation into the case for further legal action.

The government said Akonta Mining was a criminal syndicate which sold illegal mining access in the Aboi Forest Reserve for as much as GH¢300,000 per concession.

Some of these deals were allegedly sealed in exchange for weekly royalties of 250 grams of gold.

According to the sector minister, the company’s operations devastated compartments 49 and 121 of the Tano Nimiri Forest Reserve, as well as polluted the River Tano.

How Akonta Mining responded to the claims

Akonta Mining denied engaging in illegal mining activities within the Tano Nimiri Forest Reserve.

In a statement, the company called the allegations from the government false and misleading and stated that it was not responsible.

Akonta contended that the Forestry Commission and the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources should be held accountable.

Past galamsey claims against Akonta mining

YEN.com.gh reported that the Media Coalition Against Galamsey had demanded the arrest and prosecution of Boasiako back in 2022.

The group maintained that he was guilty of illegal mining offences in the Tano Nimiri Forest Reserve.

It said there was evidence that Akonta Mining violated the Minerals and Mining Act by mining closely along the banks of the Tano River.

The coalition also accused the previous Nana Akufo-Addo government of not showing a commitment to truly fight illegal mining.

At the time, then-President Nana Akufo-Addo notably defended Boasiako and Akonta Mining. The NPP executive also denied the claims.

Proofreading by Samuel Gitonga, copy editor at YEN.com.gh.

Source: YEN.com.gh