Who Sanctioned the Visa and Passport Application Extortion Machine at Ghana’s Embassy in the U.S.?
By: Franklin ASARE-DONKOH It is alleged that for five years, a quiet, multi-million-dollar digital heist operated right under the noses of diplomats in Washington, D.C. Between 2019 and 2025, unsuspecting Ghanaian citizens and any traveller looking to secure a passport or visa were routinely redirected to a rogue platform. On the alleged rogue platform which […]
A multi-million dollar digital extortion scheme operated undetected at the Ghanaian embassy in the U.S. for five years. Between 2019 and 2025, unsuspecting Ghanaian citizens and travelers were redirected to a rogue online platform run by a local IT officer named Fred Kwarteng. On this unauthorized platform, applicants were charged between $29.75 and $60 per application, siphoning an astonishing $19.3 million into Kwarteng's personal accounts.
While Kwarteng coded the backdoor, senior embassy officials and GTC, a private entity controlled by Kwarteng, provided institutional support. Signed agreements and memorandums between Kwarteng's private entity and senior embassy leadership were discovered. Collaborators within the embassy helped establish parallel bank accounts to skim money from legitimate consular fees.
When the scandal was exposed, the current Foreign Affairs Minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, enacted sweeping reforms, sacking Kwarteng, recalling and dissolving the IT team, and placing all embassy staff on suspension pending a background check. Investigation is ongoing, with charges against senior officials yet to be made public.
Written by urgent.news from GBC Ghana's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
This story
This is one outlet's version. Read the fullest account.
