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Wontumi Farms Ltd and its director and shareholder, Bernard Antwi Boasiako, have filed a civil action in the Commercial Division of the High Court, Accra, against the Ghana Export-Import Bank (GEXIM), the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) and the Attorney-General.
They want the Court to declare that the criminal case pending against them is really a debt dispute that the defendants have "improvised" as a criminal prosecution. The writ of summons was issued on 6th October 2026 and the plaintiffs' lawyer is Samuel Atta Akyea, Esq. of Zoe, Akyea & Co.
Background Facts
According to the Statement of Claim, Wontumi Farms is a company engaged in commercial farming from Kumasi. In January 2018, it says, GEXIM granted it a medium-term loan of GH¢18,734,260 for commercial corn cultivation. The plaintiffs say the facility was secured by an equitable mortgage over the company's 10,000-acre farmland at Asare Nkwanta Nsuta in the Ashanti Region, a legal charge over its fixed assets, and a personal guarantee from Mr. Boasiako. They also plead that the bank covenanted to insure the farming operation against the risks of rain-fed agriculture.
The plaintiffs say the farm failed to yield enough to repay the loan, and that when the bank was told of the agricultural difficulties it restructured the facility on new terms. They allege the bank did not disburse the whole restructured loan for the company's benefit. In September 2018, they say, a large harvest of corn was destroyed when four rivers near the farm, the Kyirenta, Dida, Fiifwa and Abram, overflowed their banks. The plaintiffs plead that they reported this to the bank, which assured them it would activate the insurance policy to secure compensation.
Instead, the plaintiffs say, the bank lodged a criminal complaint with EOCO against Mr. Boasiako over the facilities. He was investigated and denied any criminality. On 15 May 2026, the Attorney-General arraigned the company and Mr. Boasiako before the Criminal Division of the High Court on four counts: defrauding by false pretences, uttering a forged document, money laundering, and intentionally causing financial loss to a public body. The charges were amended on 22 September 2026. The case is titled Criminal Case No. CR/0429/2026, The Republic v Bernard Antwi-Bosiako, Thomas Antwi-Bosiako (at large) and Wontumi Farms Limited. The plaintiffs further plead that on 10 August 2026 their lawyers demanded a comprehensive bank statement from GEXIM and received no reply.
about 8 hours ago
2 days ago
5th Oct, 2026
23rd Sep, 2026
23rd Sep, 2026
The Plaintiffs' Contention
The heart of the claim is that the prosecution is malicious. The plaintiffs say they used no criminal trick or device to obtain the loan, and that GEXIM examined the application and every document it required as conditions precedent before approving it, satisfying itself of their genuineness and validity. The matter, they argue, is a civil debt arising from a failed farming venture and not a crime.
They set out several particulars of malice. EOCO, they say, has no jurisdiction to enter what is in substance a civil debt, and GEXIM is using it as a debt collector. They contend the defendants have ignored the collateral security and the insurance settlement, which they say would pay off the loan, in order to pursue a criminal trial. They describe it as improper professional judgment for EOCO and the Attorney-General to use criminal process to achieve a civil end, and argue that the prosecution implies the bank is incapable of conducting due diligence and exercising sound judgment in lending. They also point out that no official in the bank's management who approved the loan has been charged with any offence for being criminally implicated.
Reliefs Sought
The plaintiffs ask the Court, against the defendants jointly and severally, for a declaration that the criminal case is a civil matter improvised as a criminal one; an order of accounts to determine what the plaintiff company owes GEXIM on loans advanced between 16 January 2018 and 28 October 2020; a declaration that the collateral security and insurance cover behind the loans are sufficient to pay off the debt; and a consequential order directing GEXIM to apply that security and insurance to wipe out the outstanding debt. They also seek any further reliefs the Court considers just, and costs, including lawyers' professional fees on a full indemnity basis.
What Happens Next
The writ commands the defendants to enter an appearance within eight days of service. The Court will then have to deal with the plaintiffs' request to characterise a pending prosecution as a civil dispute, which sits alongside the criminal trial already under way in the Criminal Division. The defendants' positions on the loan, the alleged forgery and the insurance cover are not yet on record, and the outcome will depend on how they respond.
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