Minority alleges sale of Diplomatic, Service Passports to 300 Ghanaians

The Ranking Member on Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, Samuel Abu Jinapor, made the allegation at a media briefing on Sunday, November 8, saying the officials operated a travel and tour business through which customers paid to obtain the passports.

He named Ibrahim Wallee as the alleged manager of the operation in Ghana, with Bright Yeboah Owusu serving as his agent in Europe.

According to Mr Jinapor, the scheme involved assigning applicants government positions and official designations they did not hold to make them eligible for Diplomatic or Service Passports. In some cases, he alleged, the positions attributed to applicants did not even exist.

He said the passports were marketed as a means of travelling to certain countries without visas, particularly to people who might otherwise struggle to obtain the necessary travel authorisation.

Mr Jinapor further alleged that personnel of the Foreign Affairs Ministry assisted travellers at the airport to avoid or minimise scrutiny by officers of the Ghana Immigration Service.

“As at now, our sources indicate that some 300 Ghanaians have travelled to Europe and other destinations using diplomatic and service passports allegedly issued through this arrangement,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced the cancellation of 10 Service Passports allegedly issued illegally to individuals who did not qualify for the travel documents, following preliminary investigations into what it describes as a criminal passport-for-sale scheme operating since 2023.

The Ministry, in a statement issued on Sunday, November 8, said the affected passports were issued after the alleged payment of money to a syndicate operating within the passport administration system.

It disclosed that two officials, including the Acting Director of Passports, Mahama Yahaya Amantana, have been interdicted in connection with the investigations.

A junior Foreign Service Officer, Alhassan Sumani, who is identified in the petitions as the alleged chief architect of the scheme, has also been interdicted.

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