The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has provided an update on the closure of the Embassy of Ghana in Washington following the discovery of staff at the embassy illegally collecting unapproved fees through an unauthorised link embedded in the embassy’s official website.

In a statement issued by the ministry on Tuesday, May 27, 2025, it indicated that the government has completed the recall of all local staff of the ministry back to the country and has sent a team to repair the issue with the embassy’s website.

It added that the government has now deployed a team of experienced diplomats to run the embassy, which will be open on Thursday, May 29, 2025.

“Following the recall of Home-based Staff and the suspension of Local Staff of the Embassy of Ghana in Washington DC, United States of America, a team of seasoned diplomats, led by an astute diplomat from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has been tasked to manage the Mission to ensure total systems overhaul, restore integrity in the Embassy's operations and complete ongoing structural reforms.

“It is worth noting that an Information Technology (IT) team has already been deployed to reconfigure the website and payment platforms to do away with all unofficial and unauthorised links associated with the IT system of the Embassy,” parts of the statement read.

It added, “The Ministry wishes to inform the general public that the Embassy is set to reopen on Thursday, May 29, 2025. We assure that measures have been put in place to clear the backlog. Any inconvenience resulting from our necessary interventions is deeply regretted.”

The ministry further stated the Auditor-General and the Attorney-General are now looking into the matter.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, who shared the statement on social media, said that the action taken is a strong indication that “President Mahama’s government will not tolerate any whimper of corruption, conflict of interest and reckless abuse of office.”

About the closure:

Ghana's embassy in Washington DC was closed on Monday, May 26, 2025, following allegations of corrupt practices within the institution.

Announcing the decision, Ablakwa stated that the audit uncovered that a local staff member, along with accomplices within the Washington DC embassy, had unlawfully collected unapproved fees through an unauthorised link integrated into the embassy's official website.

The individual in question is also alleged to have diverted funds from visa and passport application processes to a privately owned company he secretly established, using it as a conduit to embezzle public funds, an illegality that reportedly persisted for five years.

"With the firm support of President Mahama, I have carried out the following drastic and decisive actions following the damning findings of a special audit team I put together a couple of months ago to investigate alleged corrupt practices at Ghana's embassy in Washington DC," the minister said in a Facebook post on Monday, May 26, 2025.

He continued, "Mr. Kwarteng was a local staff recruited on August 11, 2017, to work in the embassy's IT department. According to findings and his own admission, he authorised a link on the embassy's website which diverted visa and passport applicants to his company, Ghana Travel (GTC), where he charged extra for multiple services on the blind side of the ministry and kept the entire proceeds in his private account.

"His illegal extra charges, which were not approved by the ministry and parliament as required under the Fees and Charges Act, ranged from US$29.75 to US$60 per applicant. The investigations reveal that he and his collaborators operated this illegal scheme for at least five years. This conduct has been reported to the Attorney-General for possible prosecution and retrieval of funds obtained through fraudulent schemes."

The Minister further announced that, with immediate effect, all Foreign Affairs Ministry personnel assigned to the Washington DC embassy have been recalled to Ghana.

Recalls, suspensions and dismissal at Ghana’s embassy in Washington DC concluded.

A fresh team of our most experienced and astute diplomats from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have been deployed to take over and overhaul the entire system.

Full embassy operations resume this… pic.twitter.com/83lKrw6nog

— Sam Okudzeto Ablakwa (@S_OkudzetoAblak) May 27, 2025