The Minority in Parliament has alleged that officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Passport Office facilitated the sale of Diplomatic and Service Passports to unqualified Ghanaians, with about 300 people reportedly travelling to Europe and other destinations using the documents.
The Ranking Member on Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, Samuel Abu Jinapor, made the disclosure at a media briefing on Sunday, November 8, alleging that some officials operated a travel and tour business through which applicants paid to secure the passports.
Mr Jinapor named Ibrahim Wallee as the alleged manager of the operation in Ghana and Bright Yeboah Owusu as his agent in Europe.
He explained that applicants were allegedly assigned government positions and official designations they did not occupy to make them eligible for Diplomatic or Service Passports. Some of the positions, he claimed, did not even exist.
According to him, the passports were promoted as a means of travelling to selected countries without visas, targeting individuals who might otherwise face difficulties obtaining the necessary travel authorisation.
He further alleged that some personnel of the Foreign Affairs Ministry assisted travellers at the airport to evade 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.
The allegations come as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announces the cancellation of 10 Service Passports allegedly issued unlawfully to individuals who were not qualified to obtain them.
The cancellation follows preliminary investigations into what the Ministry describes as a criminal passport-for-sale scheme that has allegedly been operating since 2023.
In a statement issued on Sunday, November 8, the Ministry said the affected passports were issued after payments were made to a syndicate operating within the passport administration system.
It also announced the interdiction of two officials, including the Acting Director of Passports, Mahama Yahaya Amantana, over their alleged involvement in the matter.
A junior Foreign Service Officer, Alhassan Sumani, who is identified in petitions as the alleged chief architect of the scheme, has also been interdicted.
The two officers have since been referred to the Ghana Police Service for further investigations and possible prosecution.
