WASHINGTON (CONVERSEER) – The Ghanaian Embassy in Washington D.C., United States, is set to reopen on Thursday, May 29, following a temporary shutdown triggered by a major corruption scandal involving a fraudulent IT scheme.
The closure, which began on May 26, was part of a sweeping restructuring after an internal breach revealed that a locally recruited IT officer, Fred Kwarteng, had created an unauthorised website link redirecting visa and passport applicants to his private company, Ghana Travel Consultants (GTC), where unapproved fees were charged and diverted into his personal account.
This scheme is believed to have operated undetected for at least five years.
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In response, all Foreign Affairs Ministry staff were recalled to Accra, the embassy’s IT department was dissolved, and all local staff were suspended.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has deployed a new team of seasoned diplomats and IT experts to overhaul the systems, restore integrity, and complete structural reforms.
The case has been referred to the Attorney-General for possible prosecution and fund recovery, while the Auditor-General has been assigned to conduct a full forensic audit.
Despite the disruption, the ministry emphasised that these decisive actions were necessary to restore trust and accountability in Ghana’s foreign missions.