The Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, has accused President John Dramani Mahama of targeting him due to personal hatred.

According to Wontumi, he has committed no offence nor served under any previous administration to warrant being "hunted" by the government.

He questioned the basis on which his bank accounts had been frozen.

Speaking in an interview on Wontumi TV on May 15, 2025, he alleged that the President was attacking him on personal grounds and urged Mahama to focus on governance rather than on him.

"They know Wontumi is winning, so they want to attack me. I have never been on any board, never worked as a government official, and never served under Akufo-Addo’s administration, so why attack me?

"There is no minister who can say they have given me a job before. So why would you close Wontumi’s account? For what reason?

"Mahama, the way your government is handling me is not right. This isn’t how things should be. I believe this is personal hatred and wrongful accusation. We went for an election, and you have won, so focus on your government,” he said.

The Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) has frozen the accounts of Bernard Antwi Boasiako, the owner of Akonta Mining.

Information available to GhanaWeb indicates that all bank accounts associated with the embattled mining firm, Akonta Mining, have been frozen by the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC).

The FIC, as per a document sighted by GhanaWeb is acting in accordance with Section 56(1) of the Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2020.

“Freezing of accounts - 1. Bernard Antwi Boasiako (a.k.a. Chairman Wontumi)

2. Akonta Mining

3. Hallmark Civil Engineering Limited.

“In accordance with Section 56(1) of the Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2020 (Act 1044), you are hereby directed to immediately freeze all accounts in relation to and in association with the above-named subjects pending further directives,” parts of a letter from the FIC to the relevant financial institutions read.

Chairman Wontumi and Akonta Mining Company have been in the news recently following the revocation of the license of the firm by the Minerals Commission, acting on the orders of the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources.

At a press conference held on Monday, April 21, 2025, lands minister, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah described Akonta Mining Company as a criminal syndicate, allegedly undertaking criminal activities in Ghana’s forests.