Ghana’s Embassy in Washington, D.C. has been temporarily closed following the discovery of a long-running unauthorized payment scheme involving visa and passport services.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has announced the temporary closure of Ghana’s embassy in Washington, D.C., following allegations of widespread corruption and abuse of office at the diplomatic mission.
Mr. Ablakwa disclosed the decision on Monday, May 26, 2025, explaining that the closure is part of efforts “to finalise the ongoing restructuring and systems overhaul” after a special audit team uncovered a long-running fraudulent scheme at the embassy.
He described the move as regrettable but necessary to restore integrity and accountability to Ghana’s diplomatic operations.
“This is part of the drastic and decisive actions I have taken with the firm support of President Mahama, following the damning findings of a special audit team I put together a couple of months ago to investigate alleged corrupt practices at Ghana’s embassy in Washington D.C.,” he stated.
A recent audit uncovered that Fred Kwarteng, a locally recruited IT staff member of the Embassy, had created an unofficial payment portal through which visa and passport applicants were redirected to his private company, Ghana Travel Consultants(GTC).
Once they get to his portal, applicants were charged unauthorized fees ranging from $29.75 to $60 for services that should have been processed solely through official embassy channels.
The scheme is reported to have operated for at least five years, with none of the funds accounted for by the embassy.
Fred Kwarteng has since been dismissed, and the matter has been referred to the Attorney-General for possible prosecution and recovery of funds.
In response to the audit findings, the following actions have been by Ghana’s Foreign Affairs ministry:
- All Ministry of Foreign Affairs staff stationed at the Washington, D.C. embassy have been recalled to Ghana.
- The embassy’s entire IT department has been dissolved.
- All locally hired staff have been suspended, pending further review.
- The Auditor-General has been called in to conduct a forensic examination of all financial and administrative records.
- The embassy will remain closed for a few days while a restructuring and systems overhaul takes place.
Authorities have expressed regret for any inconvenience caused to Ghanaians and other clients who may be affected during the temporary closure. Officials say these steps are necessary to ensure transparency, rebuild trust, and prevent future abuse.