Ghana revokes 10 fraudulent service passports, suspends two officials

Ghana’s Foreign Ministry has revoked 10 illegally issued service passports and suspended two officials as part of an investigation into suspected trafficking in special travel documents. The 10 passports, issued between January 2023 and August 2026, have been cancelled and their holders can no longer use them to travel, according to a ministry statement.

The two suspended officials are Mahama Yahaya Amantana, acting Director of Passports, and Alhassan Sumani, a junior foreign service officer. Both were handed over to Ghanaian police for further investigations and possible prosecution, while Ghana’s international partners were informed of the cancellations. The investigation was opened after two petitions received on 8 October reported alleged payments of $29,000 in 2023 and $5,000 in 2026, according to the ministry.

Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa had ordered the formation of an investigative committee on 13 October. Preliminary investigations established that people who did not meet the legal requirements had obtained these passports after illicit payments to a network operating within the passport administration, according to the ministry.

The parliamentary minority is meanwhile calling for the creation of a bipartisan investigative committee. Samuel Abu Jinapor, an MP and opposition spokesman on foreign affairs, said in Accra that nearly 300 Ghanaians had allegedly travelled to Europe and other destinations using diplomatic or service passports obtained in exchange for payment. He presented bank receipts and mobile money transfer records and announced that he would submit a motion to that effect. The ministry said the case concerns only service passports and not diplomatic passports.

The announcement comes after Togo’s warning about a tontine offering official documents, published on 7 November.