The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, appeared before Parliament on Wednesday, June 18, 2025, over the alleged corruption scandal at Ghana’s embassy in Washington, DC, which led to the closure of the embassy for days.
Addressing the Members of Parliament, Ablakwa disclosed that an investigation into the scandal has shown that the main suspect in the scandal, Fred Kwarteng, earned a staggering $4.8 million annually at the expense of the state while serving at the embassy.
The minister, who is also the Member of Parliament (MP) for North Tongu, disclosed that Fred Kwarteng, who was a contract staff member at the Ghana Embassy, made millions of dollars by illegally diverting clients of the embassy to his company, GTC, for delivery services.
“This dual role as IT contract staff and at the same time service provider, where he illegally redirects applicants to his own company (GTC), created a criminally unacceptable situation where personal interest was clearly prioritised over official duties, to the detriment of the Mission’s objectives and public’s trust.
“Investigations have revealed that on November 19, 2019, Mr Fred Kwarteng was issued a formal query when the then Head of Chancery, H.E. Genevieve Akpaloo, who is now the Head of Mission in the Ghana embassy in Tokyo, Japan, first discovered this illegal link on the website. It is curious that not much appeared to have happened after that query, as shockingly, Mr Kwarteng became bolder with his unlawful activities, which continued after more than six years,” he added.
The foreign affairs minister went on to give a breakdown of the amount of money the accused person, whom he indicated will be investigated by the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), was making.
He said that from 2019, Kwarteng delivered an average of 250 visas and passports daily, charging about $30 per delivery.
He added that GTC was also charging clients of the embassy for assisting them in filing their visa application forms.
“Following the COVID-19 pandemic, the Mission adopted a fully online mailing system for visa and passport dispatch, managed by Fred Kwarteng. Under this arrangement, applicants were offered delivery options via FedEx and USPS, for which they were charged a whopping $29.75 each. Additionally, GTC also aids applicants in completing visa and passport forms, for a fee of $60.00 to $100.00 per applicant. Mr Speaker, it will interest you to know that 99% of all applicants utilised the services of GTC, meaning 99% of all applicants paid an extra $29.75. Investigations reveal that GTC dispatched between 150 to 350 visas/passports daily. Therefore, on average, about 250 visas/passports were dispatched daily by GTC.
“This implies that, on average, yearly, GTC dispatched approximately 62,500 visas/passports. Fred Kwarteng has therefore been raking in an estimated $1,859,375.00 annually for courier services alone. Therefore, Mr Speaker, you can comprehend the substantial sum he earns annually after adding fees for assisting applicants in completing their visa and passport forms, for which he charged between $60 and $100. By conservative analysis, Mr Fred Kwarteng was making about $4.8 million annually from his unlawful enterprise. It is important to emphasise that there was no share of this amount to the ministry,” the MP said.
Watch video of Ablakwa’s briefing below:
BAI/VPO
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