Ghana’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Samuel Ablakwa, has announced the temporary closure of the country’s embassy in Washington, D.C., amid an investigation into an alleged ‘money for visa’ scandal, according to a report by the BBC.
Gatekeepers News reports that the decision to close the embassy comes after an audit team revealed concerning findings regarding corruption within the diplomatic mission.
In a statement issued on Monday, Minister Ablakwa indicated that the embassy will remain closed for a few days while efforts are made to implement a “restructuring and systems overhaul.”
He maintained that a locally recruited staff member and “collaborators” were allegedly involved in a “fraudulent” scheme whereby they extracted money from visa and passport applicants.
It is alleged that the scheme consisted of creating an unauthorised link on the embassy’s website to redirect visa and passport applicants to a private firm where they were “charged extra for multiple services” without the knowledge of the foreign ministry.
Ablakwa added that the staff member “kept the entire proceeds” in their private account, and that the scheme had been going on for five years.
Applicants seeking visas were charged unapproved fees ranging from almost $30 (£22) to $60 by the private firm.
“This conduct has been reported to the attorney-general for possible prosecution and retrieval of funds obtained through fraudulent schemes.
As a result, foreign ministry staff in Washington “have been recalled home” and “all locally recruited staff at the embassy have been suspended.
“President [John] Mahama’s government will continue to demonstrate zero tolerance for corruption, naked conflict of interest and blatant abuse of office,” he said.
