Forensic audit reveals how Ghana Embassy in US allegedly extorted $19.3m from visa, passport applicants
For six years, thousands of visa and passport applicants who turned to Ghana’s Embassy in Washington believed they were following standard government processes and paying the required fees. They filled out forms online, paid the service fees and made additional payments to have their documents mailed back to them. In many cases, that was where […]
Ghana's Embassy in Washington, D.C. allegedly extorted $19.3 million from visa and passport applicants over a six-year period through irregular fees. A forensic audit by the Auditor-General revealed that consular services such as visa issuance and passport processing were redirected to privately controlled platforms where applicants were required to pay additional charges.
These fees, including mailing and dispatch charges, application support service fees, and merchant fees, amounted to nearly $19.4 million. The audit found that applicants were redirected to external platforms, such as TravelGhana.Net and GhanaPV.org, operated by embassy employees, and required to pay additional fees ranging from $67 to $76.78 for visa and passport applications.
The audit also identified irregularities in payment processing arrangements and operational failures, including a backlog of undelivered applications. The embassy discontinued the use of self-addressed return envelopes in 2023, forcing applicants to pay a fixed mailing fee, regardless of the actual cost. As a result, applicants paid a total of $6,945,554 in mailing and dispatch fees, with an excess of $4,587,567.60.
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