Samuel Atta Akyea, lead counsel for NPP Ashanti Regional Chairman Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Wontumi, has questioned why bank officials who assessed and approved his client’s loan facilities from the Ghana Export-Import Bank (GEXIM) have not been charged alongside him.
Mr Atta Akyea raised the issue while challenging allegations that Wontumi used forged documents or made false representations to obtain the loans.
He argued that the prosecution must also examine the role of the bank officials who received the documents, conducted due diligence and approved the facilities.
“The man presented four documents to a bank. He presented it to human beings. The human beings who endorsed the documents and approved the loan, why are they not part of the case?” he asked while addressing journalists after court proceedings.
The lawyer questioned whether the bank relied on forged documents to approve the facilities, insisting that the matter required a closer examination of the circumstances surrounding the transactions.
“Let’s see who forged what, and let’s see whether the bank relied on forgeries to give a loan,” he said.
Mr Atta Akyea argued that the prosecution could not simply focus on his client without addressing the decisions made by the officials responsible for approving the loans.
He also said the defence intended to challenge some of the charges, although he did not disclose which specific charges would be targeted.
The lawyer disclosed that plea bargaining was no longer being pursued because the proposed terms were not favourable to his client.
“If you said we should go and pay the loan, that is very good. Okay, you go and pay the loan. That was if you want to push it to the point that apart from paying the loan, you will squeeze blood out of you and do a huge top-up after paying the loan as a settlement understanding, that leaves much to be desired,” he said.
Mr Atta Akyea said the defence was prepared to contest the case, maintaining that the prosecution’s allegations needed to be examined alongside the bank’s role in granting the facilities.
