Amid the continued detention of the embattled Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi—by the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), over his delayed meeting of bail condition, an old video interview has resurfaced online.
In the interview, he proudly claimed to have made significant daily earnings from gold mining.
The outspoken politician and businessman, in an interview with media personality Deloris Frimpong Manso, popularly known as Delay, revealed that he made a staggering $1 million per day from mining.
“…You can verify from the Precious Minerals Marketing Company. Just mention Hansol Mining or Chairman Wontumi’s name, they know me. They’ll pick up my file, and you can check how much I was making every day. The company was making $1 million each single day. Ghana is so rich. I had about 500 excavators and about 400 pickups.”
Chairman Wontumi was granted bail on Tuesday, May 27, requiring GH¢50 million with two justified sureties, following his arrest by EOCO on suspicions of fraud, money laundering, and other financial crimes.
Until Friday, his legal team had only managed to secure one surety.
The bail conditions proved difficult for him and his supporters, including high-ranking party members such as former Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, to meet in order to ensure his release.
The former Vice President described the bail conditions as “onerous.”
On Friday, Wontumi’s legal team confirmed that they had fulfilled the GH₵50 million bail conditions set by EOCO. However, despite this development, his release has been delayed due to a fresh legal application filed earlier in the day.
“My client is not going home tonight. We encountered a challenge that needs to be addressed before we can move forward,” his lawyer, Andrew Appiah-Kubi, explained.
“Unknown to me, an application was filed to frustrate what we are doing. We will deal with it on Monday. It is an application that was not filed by me, but it has prohibited his release,” Appiah-Kubi added.
Chairman Wontumi remains in custody, hoping to be released on Monday, June 2, 2025.
