The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has interdicted the Acting Director of Passports, Mr. Mahama Yahaya Amantana, and a junior Foreign Service Officer, Mr. Alhassan Sumani, over an alleged syndicate that sold Ghanaian Service Passports to people who did not qualify for them.
Both officers have been referred to the Ghana Police Service for further investigation and possible prosecution, the Ministry said in a statement issued on Sunday, November 8.
Mr. Sumani (FSO A5) is named in all the petitions as the “chief architect” of the scheme. The Ministry said he operated as a “goro boy” in 2023, before he was recruited into the Foreign Service on November 29, 2024.
Petitions
The Ministry said it received two petitions pointing to an irregular Service Passport issuance scheme operating illegally since 2023. The first petition of this year came on October 8, and a committee was set up on October 13, on the instructions of the Minister, Hon. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, to investigate.
The 2023 petitioner claimed he paid US$29,000 to those involved, while the 2026 petitioner said he paid US$5,000.
The Ministry’s preliminary findings confirmed that ten persons who did not qualify were issued Service Passports after allegedly making illegal payments to a syndicate. Four of the passports were issued in January and February 2023, two in May 2026 and four in August 2026.
All ten passports have been cancelled and Ghana’s international partners notified. Two of the holders, who used the passports to travel in 2023, “are being vigorously pursued,” the statement said.
Former Director to be probed
“In the interest of fairness, impartiality and non-discrimination,” the statement said, the then Director of Passports in 2023, Ambassador Mohammed Habib Idris, who is now retired, will also be investigated by the security services. He will be sanctioned if found culpable, like his counterpart Mr. Amantana.
The Ministry described the scheme as “a sophisticated operation which predates the current administration.” It said the masterminds had been exposed because of its “heightened diligence and zero tolerance for corruption.”
Diplomatic passports not affected
The Ministry stated that “so far, no evidence has emerged” that Ghana’s Diplomatic Passports are being sold. It said the matter under investigation concerns only Service Passports.
According to official figures from the Passport Office, 1,397 Service Passports were issued between 2009 and 2016, and 3,174 between 2017 and 2024. A further 754 have been issued from 2025 to date.
For Diplomatic Passports, 2,899 were issued from 2009 to 2016, 5,682 from 2017 to 2024, and 1,944 since 2025.
Reforms
The Ministry used the statement to highlight reforms under President John Dramani Mahama’s government. These include ICAO-compliant chip-embedded passports, Passport Application Centres in all 16 regions, 24-hour operations, free courier delivery and an e-Tracking system.
It said the application fee has been cut from GHS500 to GHS350. It also cited a Ghana Statistical Service survey this year that, it said, ranked passport administration as the “most transformed and least corrupt” public institution.
The Ministry promised “full transparency, impartiality and accountability” and pledged to bring the culprits to justice. It said it would continue to pursue strict policies and institutional reforms to safeguard the credibility of all categories of Ghanaian passports.