Fred Kwarteng, former IT officer at the Ghana Embassy in the United States, has been fingered for pocketing nearly $296,000 for renovation and furnishing works at the ambassador’s residence.
The revelations come on the heels of a special forensic audit of Ghana’s Embassy in the United States, which has uncovered a conflict-of-interest situation involving a company owned by the embassy’s IT officer, Fred Kwarteng.
The audit report disclosed that the embassy made two payments to Fred Kwarteng’s company, Stefrann LLC, which was confirmed by the then Chief Treasury Officer, Janet Maku Koranteng.
Parts of a report filed by Manasseh Azure Awuni’s pacgh.org read, “The payments, $159,043.84 in February 2019 and $136,864.00 in June 2020, were for renovation and furnishing works at the ambassador’s residence.
Ghana Embassy’s banker in the United States, Citibank, queried the transactions “due to questionable invoices, inconsistencies in company details, and the conflict of interest arising from a staff member being the beneficiary of Embassy payments,” according to the audit report.
The auditors said the transaction contravened the Public Financial Management Act, 2016 (Act 921), which enjoins public officials responsible for managing public resources to ensure that public funds are safeguarded and that all financial transactions are properly authorised, documented, and subject to independent audit verification.
The Foreign Service Regulations (2019) prohibit public officials serving in Ghana’s diplomatic missions from engaging in transactions that present a conflict of interest and require that all vendor engagements be subject to appropriate due diligence and compliance with applicable host-country financial and regulatory requirements.
Although the procurement failed accountability and due diligence tests, as well as compliance concerns raised by Citibank, the embassy proceeded with the transaction.
Auditors found weak vendor checks, parallel financial arrangements and third‑party payments that undermined controls. For instance, Citibank’s Jay Varkey sent an email asking for a copy of the approval from the U.S. State Department for the renovation work, details on the scope of work and budget, a list of contractors/vendors, and internal approvals, according to the audit report.
The banker also raised concerns about the payment to Stefrann LLC, noting that the check memo stated “payment of furniture for residency” and questioned whether the furniture was purchased through Stefrann LLC or Persiano Furniture Gallery.
He asked if Persiano Furniture Gallery was fully paid and if the payment was made directly to them or through Stefrann LLC”.
Also, they further disclosed that the auditors conducted a search to confirm the existence of the Company and found companies registered as STEFRAN LLC but not “STEFRANN LLC”.
Meanwhile, the Auditor-General has recommended the recovery of the amount from the key actors involved in the transaction.
It will be recalled that Fred Kwarteng served as the embassy’s ICT officer from November 2016 until his dismissal in May 2025, and has been fingered as one of the players in the $19.3 million visa and passport extortion scheme.
A Forensic audit by the Auditor-General has revealed how Ghana’s U.S. Embassy in Washington extorted $19.3 million from visa and passport applicants.
The audit report detailed that for six years, thousands of visa and passport applicants who used Ghana’s Embassy in Washington filled out forms online, paid the service fees and paid extra money to have their documents mailed back to them.
According to the report, a different system redirected applicants and imposed additional charges.
The report disclosed that the new system generated nearly $19.4 million in what the Auditor-General has now classified as irregular proceeds.
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