THE LAW 101: The Akonta Mining Judgment

While Section 107(1)(a) of Act 703 automatically extends derivative criminal responsibility to directors and officers when an offence is established against a corporate body, the court directly pierced the veil based on the facts: A1 admitted that co-director Kwame Antwi (A2) had been missing since 2021/2022, no annual returns were filed, and PW2 testified that "Chairman Wontumi owns Akonta Mining, and Akonta Mining is Chairman Wontumi.

Bernard Antwi Boasiako @ Chairman Wontumi, Kwame Antwi (at large), and Akonta Mining Company Limited, the High Court of Justice (Criminal Court 4), Accra, presided over by Her Ladyship Justice Audrey Kocuvie-Tay, delivered the judgment addressing the regulatory and criminal frameworks governing national mineral exploitation.

Statutory Provisions for Sentence ImpositionIn passing sentence, the court applied the statutory penalty rules enacted under Section 3 of the Minerals and Mining (Amendment) Act, 2019 (Act 995), which amended Section 99(2)(b) of Act 703.