Foreign Affairs Ministry uncovers illegal sale of 10 Service Passports; two officers interdicted

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has uncovered an alleged illegal scheme involving the sale of Ghanaian Service Passports to unqualified individuals, resulting in the interdiction of two passport officials and the cancellation of 10 passports.

The Ministry said preliminary investigations had established that the individuals obtained the passports through alleged illegal payments to a syndicate operating within the passport administration system since 2023.

In a statement issued on Sunday, November 8, 2026, the Ministry disclosed that two petitions received on October 8, 2026, and subsequently in 2026 had triggered an investigation into the alleged irregular issuance of Service Passports.

According to the Ministry, one petitioner claimed to have paid US$29,000, while another alleged that US$5,000 was paid to members of the network involved in the scheme.

Following the first petition, Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa directed the formation of a committee on October 13 to investigate the allegations.

The Acting Director of Passports, Mahama Yahaya Amantana, has since been interdicted, alongside a junior Foreign Service Officer, Alhassan Sumani, who was named in all the petitions as the alleged mastermind of the operation.

The Ministry said Mr Sumani allegedly operated as a middleman, popularly known as a ‘goro boy’, in 2023 before joining the Foreign Service on November 29, 2024.

Both officers have been referred to the Ghana Police Service for further investigations and possible prosecution.

The Ministry identified 10 individuals who allegedly obtained the Service Passports irregularly between January 2023 and August 2026, including two passports issued in January 2023 and several others issued this year.

It said all 10 passports had been cancelled and could no longer be used, adding that Ghana’s international partners had been notified.

The Ministry further disclosed that efforts were underway to track down the beneficiaries, including two individuals who allegedly used the improperly acquired passports to travel in 2023.

As part of efforts to ensure fairness and accountability, the Ministry said the Director of Passports during the period in question in 2023, retired Ambassador Mohammed Habib Idris, would also be investigated by the security services and sanctioned if found culpable.

It maintained that the alleged scheme predated the current administration but said investigations were ongoing to identify and bring all persons involved to justice.

The Ministry was, however, quick to distinguish the ongoing investigations from Ghana’s Diplomatic Passport administration, insisting that no evidence had so far emerged to suggest that diplomatic passports were being sold.

“For the avoidance of doubt, the matters under investigations are about Service Passports and not Diplomatic Passports,” the statement said.

The Ministry also provided figures on the issuance of the two categories of passports over three periods.

It said 1,397 Service Passports were issued between 2009 and 2016, compared with 3,174 between 2017 and 2024, while 754 had been issued from 2025 to date.

For Diplomatic Passports, the figures stood at 2,899 between 2009 and 2016, 5,682 between 2017 and 2024, and 1,944 since 2025.

The Ministry said it remained committed to strengthening passport administration and ensuring transparency, accountability and the security of all categories of Ghanaian passports.