The Office of the Attorney-General and Ministry of Justice has revealed that it did not receive any case docket from the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) concerning investigations into Akonta Mining Company Limited until September 2025, even though the investigations began as far back as 2022.
This disclosure was made in a response to a Right to Information (RTI) request filed by private legal practitioner Jonathan Owusu Asare. The response was signed by the Ministry’s Information Officer, Lydia Attoh.
According to the Attorney-General’s office, the CID initiated investigations into Akonta Mining in October 2022 after petitions were submitted by Ing. Ken Ashigbey and lawyer Martin Kpebu. The petitions raised allegations of illegal mining activities within the Tano Nimiri Forest Reserve.
However, the response indicated that the Attorney-General’s office is unable to determine the exact date the CID concluded its investigations.
On the issue of when the case docket was formally submitted, the Ministry stated that the CID presented the docket to the Attorney-General and Ministry of Justice “on or about September 15, 2025.”
It further clarified that no docket related to Akonta Mining was received by the Attorney-General’s office between 2022 and 2024, despite the ongoing investigations during that period.
“This office did not receive a docket in respect of Akonta Mining within the stipulated time frame,” the response emphasized.
The RTI revelation follows public statements by the Minister of State in charge of Government Communications, Felix Ofosu Kwakye, who had accused the previous New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration of failing to act on a completed CID investigation into the company.
In several media engagements, Mr. Ofosu Kwakye alleged that the CID had finalized its investigations and submitted a report to the Attorney-General under the former government led by Godfred Dame, but that no action was taken. He described the alleged inaction as either incompetence or a deliberate attempt to protect politically exposed individuals.
The RTI response now offers an official timeline from the Attorney-General’s office, detailing when investigations commenced and when the docket was eventually received.
Akonta Mining, owned by the NPP’s Ashanti Regional Chairman, Bernard Antwi Bosiako popularly known as Chairman Wontumi is currently facing two criminal cases. The company is accused of permitting mining activities within the Tano Nimiri Forest Reserve without authorization and allowing mining operations on its Samreboi concession without the necessary approvals.
