The Ghana Embassy in Washington, DC, will reopen its doors on Thursday, May 29, 2025, following a temporary closure prompted by a major IT breach and internal audit that exposed a long-running scheme to divert consular fees.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, May 27, 2025, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration announced that a team of seasoned diplomats and an advanced Information Technology (IT) team has been deployed to oversee a complete systems overhaul and restore integrity to the embassy's operations. "A team of seasoned diplomats, led by an astute diplomat from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has been tasked to run the Mission to ensure a total systems overhaul, restore integrity in the Embassy's operations, and complete ongoing structural reforms," the statement read.
The embassy was shut down on May 26, 2026, following the discovery of fraudulent activities linked to one Fred Kwarteng, a locally recruited IT officer.
According to reports, Kwarteng allegedly operated an unauthorised third-party platform, Ghana Travel Consultants (GTC), which redirected applicants seeking passport and visa services and charged them illegal fees ranging from $29.75 to $60.
