379 foreign nationals arrested for Ghana card and passport fraud
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has revealed that 379 individuals believed to be foreign nationals have been arrested for illegally possessing Ghana Cards and attempting to acquire Ghanaian passports.
Foreign Affairs Minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, said the arrests follow a growing wave of fraudulent attempts to obtain Ghanaian travel documents, largely due to the increasing global value of the Ghanaian passport, which now grants visa-free access to 42 countries.
“Foreigners are trying to lay their hands on our passports. We need to be ahead of the threat. So we have outlined a number of enhanced security measures. I can confirm to you that we are rolling out a no-nonsense approach. Any foreigner who attempts to lay their hands on our passport will be promptly apprehended and prosecuted,” he said.
As part of the new security regime, the Ministry has restricted the number of passport applications that can be registered using a single phone number.
“No mobile phone number will be allowed to register for more than five passport applications. We detected a trend of multiple attempts by the same numbers, and these numbers have now been blocked in our system,” the Minister explained.
Mr. Ablakwa added that the enhanced verification process now takes into account community demographics and family data to prevent abuse of the system, especially in relation to minors.
The Ministry reaffirmed its commitment to protecting the integrity of Ghanaian travel documents, warning that anyone, foreign or local caught violating passport regulations will face swift prosecution.
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