{
  "id": 19143467,
  "title": "Foreign Ministry Cancels 10 Illegally Issued Passports",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/09/foreign-ministry-cancels-10-illegally-issued-passports",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-09T11:13:37.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Chronicle Ghana",
    "slug": "the-chronicle-ghana",
    "url": "https://thechronicle.com.gh/foreign-ministry-cancels-10-illegally-issued-passports/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Ghanaian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has cancelled 10 illegitimately issued service passports, according to a statement issued on November 8, 2026. The Ministry claims that these passports were issued to unqualified individuals through an illegal arrangement involving a syndicate that operated within the passport administration system. Acting Director of Passports Mahama Yahaya Amantana and a junior Foreign Service Officer, Alhassan Sumani, have been interdicted over their alleged involvement in the scheme. Both officers have been referred to the Ghana Police Service for further investigation and potential prosecution.\n\nThe Ministry stated that the two officers were identified as the chief architect and middleman of the scheme, respectively. The 10 service passports identified through preliminary investigations were issued between January 2023 and August 2026 and have since been cancelled. Ghana's international partners have been notified about the cancellation. The Ministry also revealed that two individuals allegedly used the illegally acquired documents to travel abroad in 2023.\n\nThe Ministry disclosed that the first petitioner claimed to have paid US$29,000 to individuals involved in the arrangement, while another petitioner alleged that he paid US$5,000. These payments have prompted the investigations and the interdiction of the two officers. The Ministry assured that the security services would investigate the conduct of the former Director of Passports, Ambassador Mohammed Habib Idris, who is now retired. If found culpable, he would be sanctioned, along with other officers implicated in the investigations.\n\nThe Ministry emphasized that the allegations pertain only to service passports and not diplomatic passports, insisting that no evidence has emerged to establish the sale of diplomatic passports. The Minority in Parliament has raised concerns over the alleged sale and irregular issuance of both diplomatic and service passports, but the Ministry maintains that its investigations have only uncovered irregularities involving service passports.",
  "summary": "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs says it has cancelled 10 service passports allegedly issued to unqualified individuals through an illegal arrangement involving a syndicate operating within the passport administration system. The Ministry has also interdicted two officials, including the Acting Director of Passports, Mahama Yahaya Amantana and a junior Foreign Service Officer, Alhassan Sumani,…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}