The Attorney-General, Dr Dominic Ayine, has indicated that the investigations conducted by the Operation Recover All Loots (ORAL) team are progressing positively.
He has issued a warning to other state institutions that are required to provide information regarding alleged corruption, urging them to comply. He stated that failure to do so would result in the state pursuing the leaders of those institutions.
“The ORAL investigation is proceeding well. The year 2026 is expected to bring significant changes. If I request information from you [state institutions] and you hesitate, I will interpret that as complicity. Therefore, all state institutions possessing information necessary for filing criminal prosecutions should not postpone the submission of that information,” he remarked during the Government Accountability Series on Monday, December 22.
Dr Dominic Ayine informed the public about two separate alleged corruption cases involving NPP Ashanti Region Chair Bernard Antwi Boasiako (Chairman Wontumi) and Percival Kofi Akpaloo.
The Attorney-General noted that in December 2017, Wontumi Farms Limited applied for a loan of Ghs18 Million, ostensibly to cultivate maize on 100,000 acres of land and to provide employment for the youth on the farm. At the time of the loan application, which included a purported board resolution, he stated that the company was not registered. In essence, the company did not exist when its sole shareholder and director submitted the loan application.
Investigations revealed that Wontumi Farms Limited was officially incorporated on December 14, 2017, and received a certificate to commence business on the same day, according to the Attorney-General.
To carry out the project, Wontumi Farms Limited presented a proforma invoice to Exim Bank for the acquisition of agricultural equipment, including tractors, combined harvesters, corn seeder machines, and Wellington boots.
This invoice was submitted on December 15, 2017, as part of the loan application process.
Subsequently, Exim Bank requested evidence that the equipment had been acquired. On March 18, 2018, Chairman Wontumi provided a receipt from Kas-Sama Enterprise for the equipment purchase amounting to Ghs4 Million.
However, this is where the situation becomes intriguing; the equipment listed on the aforementioned receipt included both a bulldozer and an excavator.
“Our investigations revealed that Chairman Wontumi had approached Kas-Sama Enterprise, an industrial equipment supplier, and received an invoice with the intention of returning to finalise the purchase of the specified equipment. He never returned to complete the transaction. Instead, he falsified the invoice obtained from Kas-Sama Enterprise by removing the term ‘invoice’ and substituting it with ‘receipt’. This counterfeit receipt was then presented to Exim Bank as evidence of the equipment purchase following the disbursement.
“The proprietor of Kas-Sama Enterprise confirmed to investigators that the only document he provided to Wontumi Farms through Chairman Wontumi was an invoice, not a receipt,” he stated.
He further noted that after issuing the invoice, he did not hear from Chairman Wontumi again, despite numerous follow-up calls.
“The forged receipt submitted to Exim Bank implied that Kas-Sama Enterprise acknowledged the receipt of Four Million Ghana Cedis for the acquisition of earth-moving machinery and agricultural equipment. The so-called receipt indicated ’50 days to supply and 1 year guarantee and service’, which suggests that it was a proforma invoice rather than a payment receipt,” the Attorney General remarked.
