Ghana Foreign Ministry Refers Two Officials to Police Over Illegal Service Passport Syndicate

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has interdicted its Acting Director of Passports and a junior Foreign Service Officer, referring both to the Ghana Police Service for investigation and possible prosecution over an alleged syndicate that sold Ghanaian Service Passports to unqualified individuals for tens of thousands of dollars.

The two officers are Mahama Yahaya Amantana, the Acting Director of Passports, and Alhassan Sumani, a Foreign Service Officer at grade A5 . The Ministry’s statement, issued Sunday, November 8, 2026, followed preliminary findings into petitions alleging that individuals who did not meet eligibility requirements obtained Service Passports through illegal payments to a network operating within the passport administration system .

The Alleged Scheme

According to the Ministry, the scheme had been operating since at least 2023. One petitioner claimed to have paid US5,000 was paid to members of the network in 2026 . Sumani was named in all the petitions as the alleged chief architect of the operation. The Ministry further disclosed that before his recruitment into the Foreign Service on November 29, 2024, Sumani had operated as a “goro boy”—a local term for a middleman or fixer—in 2023 .

The investigation was triggered by two petitions received on October 8, 2026. Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa subsequently directed the formation of a five-member investigative committee, chaired by Ambassador Alexander Grant, on October 13 . Ambassador Francis Danti Kotia has reportedly been assigned to act as Director of Passports while the investigations continue .

Ten Passports Cancelled, Beneficiaries Pursued

The Ministry confirmed that 10 individuals who did not qualify for Service Passports obtained the documents through the alleged arrangement between 2023 and 2026. All 10 passports have been cancelled and can no longer be used for international travel. Ghana’s international partners have been notified of the cancellations, and the Ministry stated that the beneficiaries would be pursued as part of efforts to dismantle the network .

The Ministry noted that two of the individuals had successfully used the passports to travel in 2023 before the scheme was uncovered . It also sought to draw a distinction between the matter under investigation and allegations involving Ghana’s Diplomatic Passports, stating that no evidence had emerged to suggest diplomatic passports were being sold .

Former Passport Director Under Investigation

The scope of the investigation extends beyond the two interdicted officers. Retired Ambassador Mohammed Habib Idris, who served as Director of Passports in 2023 when some of the alleged irregularities occurred, will also be investigated by the security services and sanctioned if found culpable, the Ministry said .

The Ministry framed the revelations as evidence of its commitment to transparency and accountability, asserting that the alleged operation predated the current administration but insisting that its detection and the subsequent investigations demonstrated a willingness to confront corruption within the passport system .

Political Pressure Mounts

The Ministry’s announcement came on the same day the Minority in Parliament held a press conference to announce it had filed a motion seeking a parliamentary inquiry into the alleged sale of both diplomatic and service passports. Samuel Abu Jinapor, Ranking Member on Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, alleged that some 300 Ghanaians had travelled to Europe using passports issued through the arrangement, and argued that the Ministry’s internal committee could not credibly investigate itself .

“The very people who superintended this rot cannot be the same persons to investigate it,” Jinapor stated, calling for an independent and impartial parliamentary probe .

The Ministry has not yet responded to the Minority’s allegations. The police investigation into Amantana and Sumani is ongoing.