Omanghana
A former employee of Ghana’s Embassy in Washington, D.C., has challenged reports describing the full US$19.3 million identified in a forensic audit as money allegedly extorted from visa and passport applicants.
The former staff member argues that the figure represents aggregated financial irregularities involving different consular transactions and operational charges rather than a confirmed amount stolen through a single fraudulent scheme.
The Auditor-General’s forensic review examined activities at the diplomatic mission between 2019 and 2025. While the findings reportedly identified serious procedural breaches and unauthorized transactions, the former employee maintains that the distinction between irregular expenditure, disputed charges and alleged theft must be clearly explained.
According to financial details cited from the audit, the total amount under review was US$19,379,765.23. The figure reportedly includes visa and passport mailing charges, application-support services and electronic merchant-processing costs.
The audit breakdown also separately identified US$104,397 in disputed merchant fees. Another US$295,907 was linked to transactions involving a private company, STEFRANN LLC.
The former staffer contends that combining these categories and presenting the entire US$19.38 million as proceeds of extortion creates a misleading impression about the scale of the alleged direct diversion.
The controversy followed claims that Fred Kwarteng, a locally recruited information technology officer employed at the embassy since 2017, created an unauthorized link on the mission’s official website.
The link allegedly redirected applicants to Ghana Travel Consultants, a private business associated with Kwarteng. Applicants were reportedly charged additional processing fees ranging from US$29.75 to US$60, which were not officially approved by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The allegations prompted Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, with support from the Presidency, to introduce sweeping measures at the Washington mission.
Kwarteng was dismissed, while the embassy’s IT department was dissolved. Locally recruited employees were suspended, and Ghanaian diplomats stationed at the mission were recalled to Accra as part of the administrative overhaul.
The embassy was also temporarily closed while its systems and operations were reviewed. The matter was subsequently referred to the Attorney-General for further investigation, possible prosecution and the recovery of any assets found to have been unlawfully acquired.
The former staff member acknowledged that any unauthorized redirection of applicants and collection of unapproved fees would constitute a serious matter requiring investigation and legal action.
However, the individual insisted that legitimate operational charges should not automatically be treated as stolen funds simply because they formed part of the overall amount examined during the audit.
The dispute has renewed calls for the complete forensic report and a detailed financial breakdown to be made public. Such disclosure would help distinguish confirmed losses from procedural irregularities, legitimate service costs and transactions still under investigation.
Investigations are expected to determine the precise amount unlawfully collected or diverted and establish whether other individuals or entities were involved. Until that process is completed, the claims against the named individuals and companies remain allegations that have not been finally determined by a court.
Source: Omanghana
