Charles Bissue explains GH¢20,000 captured in 'Galamsey Fraud' video

Former Secretary to the now-disbanded Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM), Charles Cromwell Nanabayin Onuawonto Bissue, has explained the circumstances surrounding the GH¢20,000 captured in the undercover Galamsey Fraud video, insisting the money was not a bribe.

According to Bissue in an interview sighted by GhanaWeb on Youtube on July 6, 2026, he was expecting the money because it had been promised by Ashanti Regional NPP Chairman, Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, to support a party programme in the Western Region.

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He said he was then the NPP's Western Regional Secretary and had been informed that Wontumi would send his personal assistant, Andy, with the money.

"That GH¢20,000, the whole thing was that I was expecting the money to come because Chairman Wontumi had a prior conversation with me that he was going to give me some money. I was a regional secretary for the party and he was a regional chairman," Bissue said.

He explained that the money was meant to support a programme being organised for party organisers in the region and that Andy unexpectedly arrived with the undercover journalist.

"When Andy was coming, he came with that guy. So, in the video, you realize that he said, 'Chairman said I should give this money to you'. So, when I took the money, I just put it there because that programme, I donated," he stated.

Bissue further claimed that Chairman Wontumi and other dignitaries each contributed GH¢20,000 towards the programme, while he personally donated GH¢30,000 to the Western Regional Organizer, Abdul Ganiru.

According to him, all three later gave statements to the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) confirming the purpose of the money.

"Wontumi gave GH¢20,000, Joe Ghartey gave GH¢20,000. I donated GH¢30,000 to Abdul Ganiru for that programme. They all came to the OSP when Martin Amidu was there to write their statements to say that they had received the money. Wontumi wrote his statement that, yes, he gave the money to this person," he disclosed.

Bissue also maintained that the IMCIM did not have the authority to issue mining licences, contrary to claims that he accepted money to facilitate mining permits.

"They got it so wrong because that office never issued licenses. It is the Minerals Commission. My job was to ensure that all the structures were in place because there was an issue of bureaucracy where people delay licenses and all that. Our job was to ensure that all the licenses are vetted... They didn't even understand the work we were carrying out there," he explained.

The former IMCIM Secretary also claimed that he had rejected a $500,000 bribe from a person seeking to engage in illegal mining shortly before the undercover video was released.

"Two weeks before the video bribery incident, somebody met me around Airport trying to give me $500,000 so that they can go and mine and I said, no, I will not take it. So, if I had taken the money, it would all be okay for them to mine, then I'll make some money," he said.

Bissue is standing trial over allegations that he received bribes and other unlawful gifts to fast-track the issuance of a mining concession sticker for an unlicensed company.

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According to the Office of the Special Prosecutor, he used his position as IMCIM Secretary for personal gain by receiving GH¢35,000 from Benjamin Adjapong to facilitate the renewal of an expired mining licence for ORR Resources Limited.

MAG/VPO

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