Deputy Attorney-General Dr. Justice Srem-Sai has revealed that prosecutors who investigated the Wontumi-Samreboi illegal mining case initially suspected that the second accused, Kwame Antwi, might not be a real person after extensive checks failed to confirm his identity.
Speaking exclusively to TV3 on Wednesday, July 22, Dr. Srem-Sai said investigators examined available records but were unable to establish sufficient evidence that the individual actually existed.
According to him, the prosecution decided to save cost and resources by not investigating further to find Kwame Antwi.
“At the time we were analysing the docket, we suspected that this Kwame Antwi was not even a real human being because we did our c hecks across the board,” he said.
He explained that when the individual appeared to testify, he failed to provide enough information to prove his identity or establish that he was indeed the person in question.
Dr. Srem-Sai said the prosecution also took into account evidence suggesting that the individual had ceased to be involved with the company years before the offences under investigation allegedly occurred.
According to him, state prosecutors upon a cost-benefit analysis decided that they “don’t want to spend a lot of your resources looking for someone who will not add much to the case.”
“We wanted maximum outcome with a minimum cost. A lot of economic analysis went into these cases.”
He noted that Wontumi had informed investigators that Kwame Antwi was never part of Akonta mining management and had left Ghana around 2021 or 2022, whereas the alleged offences were committed between 2024 and 2025.
According to the Deputy Attorney-General, even if investigators had conclusively established the person’s identity, it would have had little impact on the prosecution because his only apparent link to the company was his nominal role as a director.
“What we are trying the accused persons for happened in 2024 to 2025, so even if you go and establish that this is the person, apart from his role as a director, which he wasn’t even effectively a director anyway, what else are you going to do further to look for him and spend money to get him?” he said.
Dr. Srem-Sai maintained that while the prosecution did not devote significant resources to tracing the individual, investigators remained suspicious that Kwame Antwi may not be a real person.
“We didn’t even focus on that but clearly there was suspicion that this person may not be real human being,” he added.
