Deputy Attorney-General Justice Srem Sai has revealed that the Office of the Attorney-General has rejected a plea-bargaining proposal submitted by lawyers for Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, in connection with criminal charges arising from a loan facility obtained from the Ghana Export-Import (EXIM) Bank.
According to Justice Srem Sai, although discussions between the prosecution and defence had begun under the plea-bargaining process, the proposal presented by Chairman Wontumi’s legal team did not meet the state’s expectations. Speaking in an interview with TV3 Ghana, he explained that the prosecution had already resolved to reject the offer and was only awaiting a formal meeting with the defence team to communicate its decision.
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“They made a plea proposal of what they want to offer. In our opinion, we are not satisfied, and so we intend to reject it. In fact, we have in our minds rejected it, just that we’ve not had a meeting with them to inform them of our rejection,” he stated. Without disclosing the exact details of the proposal, he stressed that the Attorney-General’s Office was not convinced that the offer sufficiently addressed the issues surrounding the case and, as such, would not accept it in its current form.
“They offered to pay some amount. It’s enough that we are still bargaining. Because plea bargaining is not supposed to be out there. When we finish, we’ll announce the conclusion, but they made an offer. “It’s enough for the public to know that they made an offer which we found inadequate, and we’re going to meet them to inform them of our rejection.”.
Source: Kabah Atawoge
