Ghana shuts down Washington embassy following major corruption probe
Ghana has temporarily closed its embassy in Washington, D.C., and recalled all foreign service personnel posted there, following the discovery of a wide-ranging visa fraud scheme that allegedly operated within the mission for at least five years.
The drastic actions come in response to a special audit ordered by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, to investigate reports of misconduct at the embassy.
The probe uncovered evidence that a locally recruited staff member had diverted visa and passport applicants to a privately owned company and pocketed unapproved fees.
In an X (formerly Twitter) post, the Minister stated that Mr Fred Kwarteng, an IT staffer hired in 2017, orchestrated the scheme.
Investigators found that Kwarteng created an unauthorised link on the embassy’s official website that redirected applicants to his firm, Ghana Travel Consultants (GTC), where he charged additional fees ranging from US$29.75 to US$60 per applicant.
These charges were not sanctioned by Ghana’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs or approved under the country’s Fees Act.
Kwarteng admitted to the misconduct and has been referred to the Attorney-General for potential prosecution and recovery of misappropriated funds.
In response to the findings, the ministry has taken the following immediate actions:
* Dismissal of Fred Kwarteng from his post.
* Recall of all Ministry of Foreign Affairs staff posted at the Washington embassy.
* Suspension of all locally hired staff at the mission.
* Dissolution of the embassy’s IT department.
* Invitation to the Auditor-General to conduct a forensic audit to determine the full extent of the financial losses.
* The embassy will remain closed for a few days from today as they finalise the ongoing restructuring and systems overhaul
The minister acknowledged the inconvenience of the closure. “Any inconvenience these radical measures may cause visa and passport applicants is regretted,” he stated in his X post.
He also stated that President John Mahama has expressed full support for the actions taken and reiterated his administration’s commitment to “zero tolerance for corruption, conflict of interest, and abuse of public office.”
