Ghana has temporarily closed its embassy in the United States capital amid an investigation over an alleged visa fraud.
The decision has been confirmed by Ghana’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa,VisaGuide.World reports.
The minister said that the embassy will be closed following the damning findings of an audit team that investigated alleged corruption at the Washington diplomatic mission.
According to the statement provided by the Ministry, the closure of the embassy would last a few days until restructuring and systems overhaul are finalized.
Unauthorized Link to Website of the Embassy
It is claimed that the scheme consisted of an unauthorized link to the website of the embassy that sent visas and passports to a private company where they were charged for various services, without the acknowledgment of the ministry, a report from the BBC notes.
According to Minister Ablakwa, a locally recruited staff member kept the entire proceeds in their private account, and the program had been going on for five years.
The Minister also said that people applying for visas were charged extra fees by the private company, ranging from almost $30 to $60, which were not officially approved.
This conduct has been reported to the attorney-general for possible prosecution and retrieval of funds obtained through fraudulent schemes.
The Minister said that as a result, foreign ministry staff in Washington have been recalled home, stressing that all locally recruited staff at the embassy have been suspended.
As a result, foreign ministry staff in Washington “have been recalled home” and “all locally recruited staff at the embassy have been suspended”, Ablakwa said.
President [John] Mahama’s government will continue to demonstrate zero tolerance for corruption, naked conflict of interest, and blatant abuse of office.
The Fraud Was Reported 5 Years Ago
According to a report from the Africa Report, a senior source at Ghana’s National Investigations Bureau (NIB) said that the fraud was internally reported five years ago.
The source told the Africa Report that an official at the embassy investigated Kwarteng between 2020 and 2021 and introduced a detailed report on the matter to the heads of Chancery and Consular Services.
The source said that they did absolutely nothing in this regard, stressing that the ministry’s top civil servants posted to DC have known about this all along but kept quiet. According to the source, this is why this decision was needed.