Kofi Tonto is a former Head of Information and Public Affairs at the Ghana Embassy in Washington DC
Kofi Tonto, a former Head of Information and Public Affairs at the Ghana Embassy in Washington DC, has shed more light on the circumstances surrounding the dismissal of a local staff member, Fred Kwarteng, over alleged corrupt practices believed to have contributed to the embassy’s closure.
In support of a statement made by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, on May 26, 2025, Kofi Tonto disclosed that he personally launched an investigation into Fred Kwarteng’s activities after receiving reports that Kwarteng had established a private company outside the embassy to offer mailing services and was charging clients unapproved fees.
“He is a bad boy. I personally investigated him because he had established his own company. My checks revealed that he was at the embassy around 2015 and was regularized in 2017 as the Foreign Affairs minister indicated.
“His private company was outside the embassy offering mailing services demanding customers to pay extra fees illegally. The incident came to my attention, I took it up with the leadership and they authorised me to investigate him,” he said in an interview on Asempa FM on Monday, May 26, 2025.
Tonto further disclosed that Kwarteng admitted to his misconduct when confronted following the investigation.
He added that, despite the admission, Kwarteng attempted to offer him money in the sum of $10,000 in exchange for his silence, while also revealing that he had accomplices involved in the alleged practices, some of whom held positions of higher authority.
“After my investigations, he admitted to the illegality. He later engaged me in a conversation and told me that he had accomplices who held higher authority than I did and further went on to say I was wasting my time to investigate him,” he added.
Tonto continued saying, “He offered me money in exchange for me to stay silent and overlook what was happening. I’m talking about Fred Kwarteng. He told me bluntly that the report I had filed directed to the ambassador would not yield any results and will be thrown out.”
Tonto, a political aide and member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) also recounted another issue of how the individual cloned the embassy’s official website using it to charge illegal fees.
“… He offered me $10,000 every month to be silent but I rejected it. What shocked me even more was that he had gone as far as cloning the embassy’s official website, ghanaembassy.org, and creating a fake one, ghnaembassy.net with the help of some accomplices, who were civil servants. They were using the cloned site to collect extra fees from unsuspecting applicants. Only a fraction of that money ever made it into the embassy’s official accounts,” he added.
Tonto’s revelations come in the wake of Kwarteng’s dismissal by Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa.
Fred Kwarteng, a local staff recruited in 2017 to work at the embassy is reported by the minister to have illegally diverted visa and passport applicants into his privately owned company called Ghana Travel Consultants.
According to Ablakwa, Kwarteng upon interrogation admitted to using his private company to charge extra fees for multiple services without the knowledge of the Foreign Affairs Ministry, and additionally kept the entire revenue generated in his private account.
“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 created an unauthorised link on the embassy’s website which diverted visa and passport applicants to his company, Ghana Travel Consultants (GTC) where he charged extra for multiple services on the blind side of the ministry and kept the entire proceeds in his private account,” the minister indicated on Monday, May 26, 2025.
The fees charged by Kwarteng were not approved by either the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or Parliament, thereby constituting a violation of the Fees and Charges Act.
“His illegal extra charges which were not approved by the ministry and parliament as required under the Fees and Charges Act ranges from US$29.75 to US$60 per applicant. The Investigations reveal that he and his collaborators operated this illegal scheme for at least 5 years,” the statement added.
Ablakwa added that, in addition to the individual’s dismissal, the matter has been referred to the Attorney General for further punitive action.
He also emphasised that all funds illicitly obtained by Kwarteng through his private company will be recovered.
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