Ghana’s Embassy in Washington, D.C., will reopen on Thursday, May 29, 2025, days after it was shut down in the wake of a corruption scandal that rocked the diplomatic mission.
The reopening follows a directive from the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, who ordered the temporary closure on May 26 after uncovering widespread financial malpractice and abuse of office at the Embassy.
Central to the scandal is Fred Kwarteng, a locally recruited IT staff member employed in August 2017. Kwarteng admitted to manipulating the Embassy’s website by creating an unauthorised link that rerouted visa and passport applicants to his private business, Ghana Travel Consultants (GTC). There, applicants were charged unapproved fees ranging between $29.75 and $60 — payments that bypassed official government channels and were instead directed into his personal account.
Initial findings suggest the scheme may have operated undetected for at least five years. The Ministry has since dispatched an internal IT team to dismantle all unofficial digital infrastructure and restore control over the Embassy’s online platforms.
A new team of diplomats, headed by a senior Foreign Affairs official, has been assigned to take over operations and lead a full structural overhaul at the Mission. According to a Ministry statement on May 27, the Embassy’s reopening will mark the beginning of sweeping reforms aimed at restoring credibility, transparency, and efficient service delivery.
The Ministry also confirmed that the incident has been formally reported to the Auditor-General and Attorney-General for further investigations and potential legal action.
In the meantime, steps are being taken to clear the service backlog caused by the shutdown. The Ministry apologized for the inconvenience and encouraged the public to reach out via the following contacts for assistance:
