Foreign Ministry cancels 10 service passports over illegal issuance

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has cancelled 10 service passports allegedly issued to individuals who did not qualify for the travel documents following preliminary investigations into an illegal passport issuance scheme.

The Ministry said its preliminary findings had confirmed that the affected individuals obtained the documents after allegedly making illegal payments to a syndicate operating within the passport administration system.

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In a statement issued on Sunday, November 8, 2026, the Ministry described the arrangement as an “irregular Service Passport issuance scheme” which had been operating illegally since 2023.

It said the actions taken followed reports of alleged corruption and irregularities, adding that the allegations prompted the Foreign Affairs Minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, to take “decisive and ruthless actions”.

The Ministry identified the 10 individuals whose passports were implicated in the preliminary findings as Richard Safo-Agyare, Augustine Agyei Boateng, Juliet Amanfo, Rebecca Agyare, Prince Acheampong, Michael Asante, Tewodros Francis Kwame, Gyabah Anthony, Frederick Entsu and Bosompem Richard.

The Ministry said the investigation was initiated after receiving petitions alleging that individuals had paid substantial sums to secure service passports despite not meeting the eligibility requirements.

"The 2023 petitioners claimed he paid US$29,000.00 while the 2025 petitioner states that he paid US$35,800.00 to those involved in this criminal cartel.

"On the instructions of the Honourable Minister, a committee was promptly set up on October 13, 2025, after the first petition was received on October 8, 2025, to investigate the matter", the statement said.

It further stated that the Minister continued to uphold “integrity and zero tolerance for corruption” in the administration of Ghanaian passports.

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

"The Acting Director of Passports, Mr Mahama Yakubu Atanasia, has since been interdicted.

"A junior Foreign Service Officer, Alhassan Sumani (FSO-A), who has been named in all the petitions as the chief architect and who operated as a "goer-boy" in 2023 before he was recruited into the Foreign Service on November 29, 2024, has also been interdicted," it noted.

The Ministry reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening the security and credibility of Ghanaian travel documents.

See the full statement below:

The Foreign Ministry’s Statement on Passport Administration in Ghana and decisive actions carried out over the period.

For God and Country 🇬🇭 🙏🏾 https://t.co/jZuuWemEeh

— Sam Okudzeto Ablakwa (@S_OkudzetoAblak) November 8, 2026

JKB/EB

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