The Minister for Foreign Affairs Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has alleged that Fred Kwarteng, a local IT staffer at Ghana’s Embassy in Washington, D.C., illicitly earned $4.8 million annually by operating a shadow visa-processing enterprise linked to the embassy’s website.
Mr. Okudzeto Ablakwa made the disclosure during a parliamentary briefing last Friday, citing the findings of a government-sanctioned fact-finding committee comprising senior diplomats and ministry executives.
“According to the team’s analysis, Mr. Fred Kwarteng was making $4.8 million annually from his unlawful enterprise,” Mr. Ablakwa said. “None of these proceeds were remitted to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.”
Kwarteng, who was employed by the embassy on August 11, 2017, is accused of setting up an unauthorized digital redirection on the embassy’s official website, funneling visa and passport applicants to a private firm he owned—Ghana Travel Consultants. There, applicants were allegedly charged unauthorized fees, with payments going directly to Kwarteng’s personal accounts, bypassing official channels entirely.
The Ministry has since taken sweeping action. The entire IT department at the Washington mission has been dissolved. All locally hired staff have been suspended, and all Foreign Affairs personnel assigned to the embassy have been recalled to Accra.
Mr. Ablakwa said the findings, combined with a damning internal audit of the embassy’s digital operations, prompted the immediate dismissal of Kwarteng. The Minister further disclosed that the Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO) and the Attorney General’s office have been asked to investigate the financial trail, recover misappropriated funds, and prosecute those involved.
The embassy, which temporarily closed for restructuring on May 26, remains at the center of a broader diplomatic cleanup effort, with Ghanaian officials seeking to restore public confidence in the integrity of its overseas missions.
The developments mark a significant embarrassment for Ghana’s foreign service and raise broader questions about oversight, cybersecurity, and governance at diplomatic outposts.
Source:TheDotNews