The Office of the Attorney-General has rejected a plea bargain proposal submitted by lawyers for Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, in connection with criminal charges linked to a loan facility from the Ghana Export-Import (EXIM) Bank.
Deputy Attorney-General Justice Srem Sai disclosed that while plea bargaining discussions had begun between the prosecution and the defence, the proposal presented by Wontumi’s legal team did not meet the state’s expectations.
Speaking in an interview with TV3 Ghana, Justice Srem Sai said the Attorney-General’s Office had already decided to reject the offer and was only waiting to formally communicate that decision to the defence.
“They made a plea proposal of what they want to offer. In our opinion, we are not satisfied, and so we intend to reject it. In fact, we have in our minds rejected it, just that we’ve not had a meeting with them to inform them of our rejection,” he said.
Although he declined to disclose the details of the proposal, the Deputy Attorney-General confirmed that Wontumi’s legal team had offered to pay an amount as part of the plea bargain. However, he said the state considered the offer inadequate.
“They offered to pay some amount. It’s enough that we are still bargaining. Because plea bargaining is not supposed to be out there. When we finish, we’ll announce the conclusion, but they made an offer,” he stated.
He added that the Attorney-General’s Office would officially inform the defence of its decision during a scheduled meeting.
“It’s enough for the public to know that they made an offer which we found inadequate, and we’re going to meet them to inform them of our rejection.”
The case relates to criminal charges arising from a loan facility obtained by Chairman Wontumi from the Ghana EXIM Bank. Discussions between both parties remain part of the plea bargaining process, although the state’s rejection means negotiations would have to continue or the case proceed through the courts.
