Former Ambassador of Ghana to the USA Hajia Alima Mahama (L) challenges Okudzeto Ablakwa’s claims
A former Ambassador of Ghana to the USA, Hajia Alima Mahama, has refuted a claim by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, that Fred Kwarteng, a former staff member of the country’s embassy in Washington, made $4.8 million annually through illegal means at the expense of the state.
Speaking in an interview on TV3 on June 23, 2025, Hajia Mahama said that the numbers given by the minister on the operations of Fred Kwarteng’s company, GTC, which she said had a valid contract with the embassy, were incorrect.
She also refuted the minister’s assertion that the monies made by Kwarteng’s company, which basically renders courier services for passport and visa applications of the embassy, were to the detriment of the state.
“I don’t know where he got his calculations from, but it can’t be true. How can it be a loss to Ghana? Like I have been saying, Ghana isn’t involved in courier services. We have hired this company to do courier services for us.
“He (Fred Kwarteng) went to these various companies to negotiate for a discount, and they gave him a flat rate. He charged his client $29.75 per delivery… even if he puts three passports in an envelope, he will still charge $29.75. And we don’t make more than 2,000 (passports) a quarter.”
She disclosed that even the revenue the embassy gets from the issuance of visas annually is less than $4 million.
Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, who is also the Member of Parliament for North Tongu, disclosed that findings in the ongoing investigation into alleged financial misconduct at Ghana’s Embassy in Washington showed that the key suspect in the scandal, Fred Kwarteng, earned a staggering $4.8 million annually while serving at the embassy.
“Mr Speaker, investigations conducted by the top management of our ministry revealed that GTC dispatched between 150 and 350 visas and passports daily. On average, about 250 visas and passports were dispatched per day.
“Right Honourable Speaker, this implies that GTC dispatched approximately 62,500 visas and passports annually. Mr Fred Kwarteng was therefore raking in an estimated $1.8 million each year from courier services alone. Mr Speaker, you can comprehend the substantial sum he earned annually when you add the fees he charged between $60 and $100 for assisting applicants in completing their visa and passport forms. By a conservative analysis, he made about $4.8 million annually from this unlawful enterprise,” Ablakwa disclosed this on the floor of Parliament on June 18, 2025.
Watch a video of the former ambassadors remarks below:
I knew Fred Kwarteng was the owner of the Courrier Company the Embassy was working with – Fmr Ghana Ambassador to the USA, HE. Hajia Alima Mahama ESQ.#UrbanBlend #3FM927 pic.twitter.com/lLjYb8YObN
— #3FM927📻 (@3fm927) June 23, 2025
BAI/MA
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