Ghana’s embassy worker fired over alleged 5-year visa scam in Washington DC — Ablakwa

A staff member at the IT department of Ghana’s Embassy in Washington DC, United Staes of America, Fred Kwarteng, has been dismissed with immediate effect.

Mr. Kwarteng, a local staff who was employed in 2017, is alleged to have engaged in a corruption scheme spanning five years at one of the country’s US-based embassy.

This was revealed in a social media post shared by Minister for Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, on Monday, May 26.

The Minister disclosed that the dismissed staff created an unauthorized link on the embassy’s website, which diverted visa and passport applicants to his private company, Ghana Travel Consultants (GTC). He allegedly charged extra fees for multiple services without the knowledge of the Ministry and kept all proceeds in his personal account.

“His illegal extra charges, which were not approved by the Ministry and Parliament as required under the Fees and Charges Act, ranged from US$29.75 to US$60 per applicant,” the Minister revealed.

Acting on the advice of President John Dramani Mahama, Mr. Ablakwa has also recalled all Ministry of Foreign Affairs staff posted to the Washington embassy with immediate effect.

He further announced that the embassy’s IT department has been dissolved, and all locally recruited staff at the embassy have been suspended.

“Ghana’s embassy in Washington DC shall be closed for a few days from today as we finalize the ongoing restructuring and systems overhaul,” the Minister stated.

The Auditor-General and the Minister of Justice, Dr. Dominic Ayine, have been tasked to conduct a forensic examination of all transactions and determine the total cost of the alleged fraudulent scheme.