In response to claims of widespread corruption and official abuse, Ghana’s embassy in Washington, D.C., has been temporarily closed down.
In a social media post, Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa verified this and announced a number of decisive measures, including the suspension and termination of some employees.
“All Ministry of Foreign Affairs staff posted to the Washington embassy have been recalled home with immediate effect. The embassy’s IT department has been promptly dissolved. All locally recruited staff at the embassy have been suspended,” portions of the post read.
To ascertain the overall cost of this complex fraudulent operation, the Auditor-General has also been entrusted with performing a forensic analysis of every transaction.
The minister clarified that the action is a component of the ongoing efforts to complete a systemic overhaul and restructuring.
Mr. Ablakwa stressed the need to reestablish integrity and accountability while acknowledging that the action was unfortunate and expressing regret for any inconvenience.
Fred Kwarteng, a local employee at the heart of the extensive scam, has been linked to a complex fraud scheme that involved charging visa and passport applications without authorization.
He allegedly made an illegal link on the embassy’s official website after being hired in August 2017 to work in the IT department.
“This diverted visa and passport applicants to his company, Ghana Travel Consultants (GTC), where he charged extra for multiple services without the ministry’s knowledge and kept the entire proceeds in his private account.
“His illegal extra charges, which were not approved by the ministry or parliament as required under the Fees and Charges Act, ranged from US$29.75 to US$60 per applicant. Investigations reveal that he and his collaborators operated this illegal scheme for at least five years,” he detailed.
According to the minister, the Attorney General has been notified of the behavior in order to potentially prosecute the offender and recover assets that were earned through fraudulent schemes.
Below is Mr. Ablakwa’s full post: