Tribe Culture Fest denies collecting visa fees amid $611,000 World Cup travel controversy

Tribe Culture Fest has denied receiving money from individuals allegedly promised visas to the United States, Canada and Mexico, insisting its dealings with the National Sports Authority (NSA) were limited to event management and travel logistics.

The company’s chief executive, Nana Boateng Gyimah, made the clarification at a press conference on Sunday, October 18, following allegations by Sports and Recreation Minister Kofi Adams involving payments reportedly totalling $611,000 in connection with Ghana’s World Cup travel arrangements.

Gyimah said the company’s agreements with the NSA and other institutions covered services such as hotel bookings, transportation, security and travel logistics, rather than private arrangements with individuals seeking visas.

“Our dealings were institutional arrangements relating to specific programs and activities. They were not personal financial arrangements with private individuals seeking visas to travel to the United States, Canada, or in fact, Mexico,” he said.

He disclosed that Tribe charged $3,000 and $2,000 as full and final payments for services provided under the arrangements.

Gyimah insisted the company had not received payments directly from individuals seeking visas, despite reports that some people had paid substantial sums to secure travel documents.

“Our attention has been drawn to the fact that individuals paid as high as 14,000 to 20,000 to individuals at the NSA with the promise of securing visas for their travels to the United States, Canada, and Mexico, but mainly the United States and Canada,” he said.

“We add that we have at no point in time received any payments from any individual as we were being told,” he added.

The company said the distinction between its institutional contracts and the alleged payments to individuals at the NSA was important in establishing responsibility for the disputed funds.

Tribe Culture Fest is demanding documentation to establish who received the money, how the payments were made and whether any funds reached the company or its chief executive.

It has also challenged the authorities to provide the contractual and legal basis for any demand that it refund money linked to the allegations.