Chairman Wontumi Arrested After Reporting To Police CID

NPP’s Ashanti Regional Chairman, Chairman Wontumi, has been arrested and handed over to EOCO over alleged galamsey activities and questionable payments. Investigations are ongoing.

Chairman Wontumi Arrested After Reporting To Police CID
Chairman Wontumi
Chairman Wontumi Arrested After Reporting To Police CID
Chairman Wontumi Arrested After Reporting To Police CID

The Ashanti Regional Chairman of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi Boasiako, widely known as Chairman Wontumi, has reportedly been arrested by the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) and transferred to the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO).

His arrest follows his appearance at the CID headquarters on Monday, May 26, as instructed. The NPP stalwart is currently under investigation for alleged illegal mining activities and questionable financial transactions.

Under Investigation for Galamsey and Payment Controversy

Unconfirmed reports suggest Chairman Wontumi is being questioned on two major issues:

  1. Alleged involvement in illegal mining (galamsey) through his company, Akonta Mines.

  2. Receiving irregular payments during the transitional period between the former NPP administration and the incoming NDC government.

Sources say he strongly denied the galamsey allegations during interrogation and submitted a valid mining license to back his position. The payment-related inquiry appears to revolve around disbursements that took place despite a directive to freeze certain transactions during the power transition.

Detention or Release?

As of now, it remains unclear whether Chairman Wontumi will be released or detained after today’s arrest and questioning at EOCO. Neither the Ghana Police Service nor EOCO has issued an official statement confirming the charges or his detention status.

The development has stirred significant public and political interest, as Wontumi is known to be one of the NPP’s most vocal and influential figures in the Ashanti Region.

The NPP leadership and Wontumi’s legal team are yet to publicly comment on the arrest.

However, some NPP faithfuls and social media users have reacted;