Kofi Tonto, the former Head of Information and Public Affairs at Ghana’s Embassy in Washington, D.C., has refuted claims linking him to the US$19 million extortion scheme at the mission.
According to Kofi Tonto, attempts to associate him with the alleged scheme are misleading.
He argued that the US$800 payment he received in July 2021 was a legitimate child benefit paid to him following the birth of his daughter.
Kofi Tonto stressed that a one-time payment of US$800, which he had no control over regarding its source, could not be used to associate him with the alleged fraudulent scheme involving about US$19 million.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, August 12, Kofi Tonto wrote, “I have become aware of a story published online in which it is alleged that I received an amount of USD$800 out of a colossal amount of USD$19 million allegedly obtained from a fraudulent scheme at Ghana’s Embassy at Washington, USA.
According to the story, this alleged fraudulent scheme was uncovered as a result of a forensic audit conducted by the Ghana Audit Service into the affairs of the Embassy covering the period 2017 to 2025.
I wish to state that I have never been involved in any scheme, the sharing of, or the receipt of any ill-obtained funds.
It is instructive to note that in the said audit report, I have not been named as a person of interest for investigation. The amount of $800 which I received in July 2021 was money which was lawfully paid to me as a child benefit package for the birth of my daughter which occurred in January 2021. To the best of my knowledge and recollection, the payment of a child benefit package is a standard practice that preceded me, as one will find in the same report that about 28 other staff members also received benefits for various life-changing reasons.
Therefore, a one-time payment of $800 for child benefit which I did not solicit for, nor determine the amount, nor determine the payment bank account and could not have known the source of funding, cannot be used as a basis to falsely implicate me as complicit in the alleged fraudulent scheme which allegedly yielded $19 million.
Lastly, I wish to state that all payments such as compensations, allowances, benefits, and refunds that I received during my tenure as Head of Information and Public Affairs at the Embassy between the period March 2019 and July 2021 were received bona fide by me as a worker, which payments were made in accordance with longstanding established processes. I was never involved in decisions relating to the financial management of the Embassy, especially those involving the operation or closure of any bank account.
I therefore wish to encourage my family, friends, loved ones, admirers and the general public to disregard any distorted narrative which is being pushed to falsely attribute wrongdoing to me in this matter”.
His statement follows a recent Auditor-General forensic audit of Ghana’s Washington DC embassy that found $19.3 million in irregular proceeds from 2019-2025.
It will be recalled that on Monday, May 26, 2025, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, closed down Ghana’s Embassy in Washington, DC after allegations of corruption.
Some embassy staff were alleged to have diverted funds from visa and passport application processes to a privately owned company secretly established.
The report implicated senior officials at the embassy, including Ghana’s Ambassador to the United States, Hajia Alima Mahama; Joseph Ngminebayihi, who served as Minister (Consular) from 2017 to 2021; and his successor, Amidu Mohammed Karande, who served from 2021 to 2025.
According to the audit report, Alima Mahama approved a contract formalising the outsourcing of dispatch services to entities linked to the system.
The report published by the Public Accountability and Integrity Commission (PAIC), the structure of the website used for consular services, visa issuance and passport processing was altered through website manipulation.
It indicated that applicants who accessed the embassy’s official website were redirected to privately controlled platforms, where they were required to pay $29.75 per application for the return of their passports or visas.
Details showed that the expected or actual cost of postage averaged $10.10, indicating that each applicant paid nearly $20 above the cost of the service.
“These arrangements enabled the collection of dispatch/mailing fees and application support service charges from applicants,” part of the forensic audit report stated.
The audit report detailed that the largest component of the $19.3 million in alleged illicit fees charged came from mailing and dispatch charges.
An Information Technology Officer at the embassy identified Fred Kwarteng has been fingered in the audit report as the alleged mastermind behind the scheme which created and operated external platforms, including TravelGhana.Net and GhanaPV.org.
The audit report indicated that websites created by Kwarteng “redirected applicants from the Embassy’s website to pay fees for postage and application support services. Applicants were charged $29.75 for return postage and additional support service fees through the platform,” the report stated.
See the post below:
Accra, Wednesday, 12th August, 2026
— Kofi Tonto (@kofitonto) August 12, 2026
RE: FRAUDULENT SCHEME AT GHANA’S EMBASSY AT WASHINGTON, USA
I have become aware of a story published online in which it is alleged that I received an amount of USD$800 out of a colossal amount of USD$19 million allegedly obtained from a… pic.twitter.com/WENewbXM8d
@ghnow_ Hon. Ewurabena Aubynn Presents School Items to Over 500 Beneficiaries 🎒📚👏🏾 #GHnow #fyp ♬ original sound – NDCMUSICHQ
@ghnow_ Beneficiaries Express Gratitude to Hon. Ewurabena Aubynn for the Support #GHnow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow
