Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison after being convicted on all six charges brought against him.
The judgment was delivered on Monday, July 20, 2026, by Criminal Court 4 of the High Court, where Justice Audrey Kocuvie-Tay found him guilty on all counts.
The court ordered that the prison terms run concurrently and also imposed a fine of 10,000 penalty units for each of the six counts.
Akonta Mining Limited, which was also convicted on two charges in the case, was fined 15,000 penalty units on each count.
The convictions were secured under the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703), as amended by the Minerals and Mining (Amendment) Act, 2020 (Act 995), which introduced tougher penalties for illegal mining-related offences.
Chairman Wontumi, Akonta Mining Company Limited and a third accused person, Kwame Antwi, were prosecuted over alleged illegal mining activities on the company’s concession at Samreboi in the Western Region.
According to the prosecution, the accused unlawfully assigned mineral rights on the concession without obtaining approval from the sector minister and facilitated mining operations without the required authorisation, contrary to the provisions of the Minerals and Mining Act.
