The Foreign Affairs Minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has taken decisive action following revelations of corrupt practices at Ghana’s embassy in Washington, D.C. in the United States of America.
Posting on his social media pages on Monday, 26 May 2025, Mr Ablakwa announced the immediate dismissal of Mr Fred Kwarteng, a local staff member implicated in an elaborate fraud scheme involving unauthorised charges on visa and passport applicants.
Mr Kwarteng, recruited in August 2017 to the embassy’s IT department, allegedly created an unauthorised link on the embassy’s official website.
With the firm support of President Mahama, I have carried out the following drastic and decisive actions following the damming findings of a special audit team i put together a couple of months ago to investigate alleged corrupt practices at Ghana’s embassy in Washington DC:
1)…
— Sam Okudzeto Ablakwa (@S_OkudzetoAblak) May 26, 2025
This link redirected applicants to his private company, Ghana Travel Consultants (GTC), where extra fees ranging from US$29.75 to US$60 were charged without ministry or parliamentary approval.
Minister Ablakwa explained that “the investigations reveal that he and his collaborators operated this illegal scheme for at least five years.”
The Foreign Affairs Minister confirmed that the case has been referred to the Attorney-General for possible prosecution and efforts to recover funds acquired through these fraudulent activities.
“This conduct is a serious breach of public trust and will be met with the full force of the law,” he stated.
In addition to the dismissal, all Ministry of Foreign Affairs staff posted at the Washington embassy have been recalled immediately, and all locally recruited staff there have been suspended. The embassy’s IT department has also been dissolved to prevent further abuse.
Mr Ablakwa regretted any inconvenience the radical measures might cause to visa and passport applicants but emphasised that “President Mahama’s government will continue to demonstrate zero tolerance for corruption, naked conflict of interest, and blatant abuse of office.”
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