Ghana’s embassy in Washington DC has been temporarily closed following a sweeping anti-corruption operation triggered by findings of a special audit ordered by President John Mahama’s administration.
In a decisive move, the government has dismissed Mr Fred Kwarteng, a local IT staff member accused of orchestrating a visa and passport scam that siphoned funds from applicants into a private account for over five years.
According to the audit team’s findings — and Kwarteng’s own admission — he created an unauthorized link on the embassy’s website which redirected applicants to his personal firm, Ghana Travel Consultants (GTC). Through this scheme, applicants were illegally charged between US$29.75 and US$60 per transaction without the knowledge or approval of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or Parliament, as mandated by the Fees and Charges Act.
In addition to Kwarteng’s dismissal, the following actions have been taken:
•All Ministry of Foreign Affairs staff at the Washington DC mission have been recalled.
•The entire IT department of the embassy has been dissolved.
•All locally recruited staff have been suspended.
•The Auditor-General has been tasked to conduct a forensic examination of all transactions to determine the full financial impact of the fraudulent activity.
The embassy will remain closed for a few days while restructuring and system overhauls are finalized.
The case has been referred to the Attorney-General for possible prosecution and the recovery of misappropriated funds.
A statement from the government expressed regret for any inconvenience caused to visa and passport applicants, but emphasized that these radical measures reflect a zero-tolerance stance on corruption, conflict of interest, and abuse of office.
Further updates are expected in the coming days.
