By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Ghana has temporarily closed its embassy in Washington, the US capital, amid an investigation into an alleged visa scam, the foreign minister said.
This is in response to “damning findings” of an audit team set up to probe alleged corruption at the Washington diplomatic mission, the FM Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa said in a statement.
The closure would last “a few days” until a “restructuring and systems overhaul” is finalised, Ablakwa stated.
According to Ablakwa, a locally recruited staff member and “collaborators” were allegedly involved in a “fraudulent” scheme whereby they extorted money from visa and passport applicants.
The suspected fraudulent 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, the minister said.
He 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, he revealed.
“This conduct has been reported to the attorney-general for possible prosecution and retrieval of funds obtained through fraudulent schemes,” Ablakwa added.
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,” he said.
