FIC Probes McDan, Wontumi Over Financial Transactions

Wontumi

 

The Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) of Ghana has requested detailed financial records from the McDan Group as part of an ongoing investigation into suspected money laundering.

In a letter signed by FIC Chief Executive Officer, Albert Kwadwo Twum Boafo, which has surfaced online, the Centre indicated it had received intelligence suggesting that between January 2020 and December 2024, the company engaged in substantial financial transactions with various entities.

Acting under the Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2020 (Act 1044), the FIC cited Sections 36 and 37, which grant the authority to demand financial information in relation to suspected financial crimes.

The letter requested McDan Group to submit records of all electronic fund transfers, cheques issued to third parties, and details of financial institutions used during the specified period. The company has been given seven days to respond in accordance with Section 37(4) of the Act.

In a related development, the FIC has reportedly frozen all bank accounts belonging to Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), as well as accounts held by his mining company, Akonta Mining Company Limited.

According to reports, the action was taken under Section 56(1) of the Anti-Money Laundering Act amid ongoing investigations into alleged financial irregularities. The FIC has directed that all transactions involving Chairman Wontumi, Akonta Mining Company Limited, and Hallmark Civil Engineering Limited be suspended pending further notice.

These developments come shortly after the government revoked the mining lease of Akonta Mining following revelations that the company had engaged in illegal mining activities — commonly known as “galamsey” — within protected forest reserves.

Speaking at a press briefing in Accra on Monday, April 21, 2025, the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Armah-Kofi Buah, outlined findings from recent undercover investigations which revealed that, although Akonta Mining was licensed to operate outside forest reserves, it had encroached on the Aboi and Tano Nimiri Forest Reserves in the Western North Region without authorisation.

Further investigations alleged that the company sold access to these areas to illegal miners for up to GH¢300,000 per concession, with some of these miners reportedly paying weekly royalties in gold, up to 250 grams, to the company.

Akonta Mining has denied the allegations and issued a strongly worded statement describing them as false and misleading. The company condemned the revocation of its licence as a “clear breach of natural justice,” insisting it bears no responsibility for any activities in the Tano Nimiri Forest Reserve, and asserting that oversight of such areas rests with the Forestry Commission and the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources.

By Prince Fiifi Yorke

 

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