FIC freezes Chairman Wontumi’s bank accounts over alleged financial irregularities, mining probe

The Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) has frozen all bank accounts linked to Bernard Antwi Boasiako, widely known as Chairman Wontumi, and his mining company, Akonta Mining, amid allegations of financial irregularities.

According to sources at the FIC, the freeze was initiated under Section 56(1) of the Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2020 (Act 1044), which authorizes the FIC to restrict access to accounts where there is reasonable suspicion of illicit financial activity.

In a formal directive issued to financial institutions, the FIC instructed that all transactions involving Chairman Wontumi, Akonta Mining, and Hallmark Civil Engineering Limited be immediately halted “pending further directives.”

The move is part of a broader investigation into suspected money laundering and related financial misconduct.

Chairman Wontumi, who serves as the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has come under mounting public scrutiny. His mining company, Akonta Mining, has been at the center of controversy following a directive by the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources to revoke its operating license.

At a press briefing held on Monday, April 21, 2025, Lands Minister Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah referred to Akonta Mining as a “criminal syndicate,” accusing the firm of conducting unauthorized mining activities in protected forest reserves.

This latest action by the FIC, underscores the agency’s intensified efforts to combat financial crime in Ghana. The Centre has recently stepped-up enforcement actions targeting individuals and companies suspected of breaching anti-money laundering laws.

The freezing of Chairman Wontumi’s accounts is viewed as a significant escalation in the government’s broader campaign against corruption and financial impropriety in the natural resources sector.

Further developments are expected as investigations continue.