Visa fraud scandal deserved official statement, not Facebook post — Larry Dogbey to Ablakwa

Managing Editor of The Herald newspaper, Larry Dogbey, has criticised the manner in which the alleged visa fraud scandal at Ghana’s Embassy in Washington, D.C., was made public.

He expressed disappointment that the announcement came through the personal social media pages of Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, rather than through an official government statement.

Speaking on Accra-based Channel One TV on Tuesday, May 27, Mr. Dogbey said the development warranted formal communication to reflect the weight and seriousness of government business.

“You just don’t go on your Facebook page and put a thing like that out there. It should have been an official statement and signed,” he said.

“Let it carry weight and become an official government communication. But putting it on your Facebook? No. I think that opens you up for criticism. If you notice, the attribution is not government — it’s Ablakwa.”

His comments come after revelations that Fred Kwarteng, a local staff member in the embassy’s IT department employed in 2017, had allegedly engaged in a five-year corruption scheme at the mission.

Kwarteng, who has since been dismissed, reportedly created an unauthorised link on the embassy’s website, redirecting visa and passport applicants to his private company, Ghana Travel Consultants (GTC).

He allegedly charged applicants extra fees for various services without the knowledge or approval of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and deposited the money into 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,” Ablakwa disclosed in a social media post on May 26.

The Auditor-General and the Minister for Justice and Attorney General, Dr. Dominic Ayine, have been tasked to conduct a forensic audit of all transactions and determine the full extent of the fraud.