Dr Dominic Ayine, the Attorney General and Minister for Justice, has revealed that he is under pressure to enter into plea deals in connection with ongoing corruption investigations on the ORAL cases.
According to Dr Ayine, several plea bargain offers had been made by some accused persons, but he has rejected them.
He revealed that the embattled Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, made offers of a plea deal.
According to the Attorney-General, he turned down Wontumi’s plea deal in the case involving Akonta Mining Company Limited.
Speaking at a press briefing in Accra on Wednesday, October 22, as part of the Government Accountability Series, stated, “I’m under no pressure from any quarters to cut deals. Mr President, who is my boss, has not put any pressure on me. He gives me his blessings when I brief him. The Chief of Staff has not put pressure on me to cut deals with anybody.”
“Offers have been made, but I have turned all of them down. I have told everybody, please go to court. In the Wontumi case, offers were made to us for a plea bargain, but I said no — I’m filing charges. If you want to announce your intention for a plea deal, do it before the judge. That is now my strategy,” he explained.
He further dismissed claims that he was cutting deals with NPP officials.
“The NPP took advantage and said I was cutting deals. No deals have been cut and no deal will be cut,” he maintained.
Meanwhile, Chairman Wontumi was released from police custody some weeks ago after three nights.
The Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) released comes after he fulfilled bail conditions amounting to GH₵25 million imposed across two separate illegal mining cases. Wontumi, on Tuesday, October 7, was granted a ₵25 million bail by the Criminal Division of the Accra High Court in connection with two separate cases relating to alleged illegal mining.
Chairman Wontumi and the Operations Manager of Akonta Mining Company Limited were granted bail in the sum of GHC10 million with two sureties.
The two sureties, one must be justified with proof of landed property.
Wontumi and Akonta Mining have been accused of destroying 13 hectares of land in the Tano Nimiri forest.
The NPP Ashanti Regional Chairman pleaded not guilty to all seven charges levelled against him.
In another case, Chairman Wontumi was slapped with seven fresh charges, which stem from his alleged mining in Tano Nimire Forest Reserve in the Western Region.
The charges come barely after he appeared in a separate case.
In this case, Wontumi and four others associated with his Akonta Mining Company Limited are facing the accusations of unlawfully engaging in mining operations, environmental destruction.
Additionally, the Accra High Court has granted Wontumi a ₵15 million bail with three sureties in a separate case.
The Accra High Court gave the prosecution three weeks to file disclosures.
Wontumi’s next court hearing is scheduled for October 28, 2025.