Chairman Wontumi has been in EOCO detention since Tuesday
The Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) is investigating Bernard Antwi Boasiako, widely known as Chairman Wontumi, the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), for serious criminal allegations, including fraud, causing financial loss to the State, and money laundering, according to the Deputy Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Justice Srem Sai.
In a social media post on Thursday, May 29, 2025, Justice Srem Sai announced that Wontumi, detained by EOCO since Tuesday, May 27, 2025, is also a suspect in a separate investigation tied to a wider international organised crime network.
“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 AG stated.
“The criminal investigation is running concurrently with asset recovery processes to prevent further dissipation of what law enforcement agencies strongly suspect to be proceeds of crime,” he added.
Justice Sai further revealed that EOCO is collaborating with international law enforcement agencies on a second investigative strand.
“The suspect is also under a second strand of investigation, which is part of a larger international organised crime scheme. The Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) is assiduously working with our international law enforcement partners on this second strand of criminal investigations,” he wrote.
Wontumi’s detention followed his appearance at the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) in Accra on May 27, 2025, after an earlier unsuccessful attempt to arrest him on May 23, 2025.
The CID had initially questioned him over alleged illegal mining activities.
However, Wontumi’s lawyer, Andy Appiah-Kubi, clarified on Tuesday night that EOCO’s interrogation centers on his client’s transactions with Exim Bank, which has also served Wontumi with a writ of summons.
During intense questioning on Tuesday, Wontumi reportedly fell ill and was hospitalized.
On Wednesday, May 28, 2025, EOCO set bail at GH¢50 million, but Wontumi’s inability to meet the conditions has prolonged his detention.
