Minority alleges 300 Ghanaians travelled abroad with fraudulently acquired special passports

The Minority in Ghana's Parliament has accused about 300 individuals of using fraudulent Diplomatic and Service Passports to travel to Europe and other countries. According to the Minority, these passports were obtained through an organized scheme involving intermediaries and officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The scheme allegedly involved applicants receiving positions and titles they did not hold in exchange for paying money.

At a press conference on November 8, the Minority named two individuals, Ibrahim Wallee and Bright Yeboah Owusu, as key figures in the operation. The Minority alleged that applicants provided money to secure the passports, with some reportedly receiving official titles in public institutions to support their applications. The Minority provided evidence, including letters apparently issued by the Foreign Affairs Ministry and copies of documents like passport bio-data and payment records.

The Minority argued that the passports allowed holders access to 59 countries without visas for Service Passport holders, and 62 for Diplomatic Passport holders. The controversy surrounding the alleged scheme aligns with an ongoing investigation by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs into the irregular issuance of Service Passports.

The Ministry cancelled 10 Service Passports and detained two officials, but claimed no evidence of Diplomatic Passport sales. The Minority insists on an independent inquiry and plans to propose a motion in Parliament on November 9 to establish an Ad Hoc Committee to investigate the allegations and determine if public officials abused their positions to facilitate the transactions.