Ghana’s embassy in Washington, D.C., has been temporarily shut down following allegations of widespread corruption and abuse of office at the diplomatic mission.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, confirmed this in a social media post, announcing several decisive actions, including the dismissal and suspension of some workers.
“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.
Additionally, the Auditor-General has been tasked with conducting a forensic examination of all transactions to determine the total cost of this elaborate fraudulent scheme.
The minister explained that the move forms part of efforts to finalize an overhaul and restructuring of the system.
Acknowledging that the move was regrettable and apologizing for any inconvenience, Mr. Ablakwa emphasized that it is necessary to restore integrity and accountability.
At the center of the widespread scandal is a local staff member, Fred Kwarteng, who has been implicated in an elaborate fraud scheme involving unauthorized charges on visa and passport applicants.
Recruited in August 2017 to the IT department, he allegedly created an unauthorized link on the embassy’s official website.
“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.
Meanwhile, the minister said the conduct has been reported to the Attorney-General for possible prosecution and retrieval of funds obtained through fraudulent schemes.
Below is Mr. Ablakwa’s full post:
Source: Adomonline.com
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