NPP's Kofi Tonto Responds to $800 Payment Allegation in Ghana Embassy Fraud Case
- NPP's Kofi Tonto broke his silence after being named in reports linking him to a $19 million fraud scheme at Ghana's Washington embassy
- A Ghana Audit Service forensic audit covering 2017 to 2025 reportedly uncovered the alleged fraudulent scheme at the embassy
- Kofi Tonto acknowledged receiving $800 in July 2021 but insisted the payment was a legitimate child benefit package for his newborn daughter
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New Patriotic Party (NPP) figure Kofi Tonto has publicly addressed reports connecting him to an alleged $19 million fraudulent scheme uncovered at Ghana's Embassy in Washington DC, categorically denying any wrongdoing.
In a Facebook post published on Wednesday, August 12, 2026, Tonto confirmed he had been made aware of an online publication claiming he received $800 as part of funds allegedly siphoned from the embassy.
Source: Facebook
The allegation stems from a forensic audit conducted by the Ghana Audit Service into the embassy's financial activities between 2017 and 2025.
Tonto explains the $800 payment
The NPP figure acknowledged that he did receive $800 in July 2021, but firmly rejected the suggestion that the money was connected to any fraudulent activity.
He said the amount was paid to him as a child benefit package following the birth of his daughter in January 2021, describing it as a standard entitlement rather than a solicited payment.
"I have never been involved in any scheme, the sharing of, or the receipt of any ill-obtained funds," he wrote.
Tonto added that approximately 28 other staff members at the embassy received similar benefit payments for various personal circumstances, suggesting the practice was routine and well-established within the institution.
He also stressed that he played no role in determining the amount, selecting the payment account, or controlling the source of funding, and that his name did not appear in the audit report as a person of interest for investigation.
Kofi Tonto distances himself from financial decisions
Kofi Tonto served as Head of Information and Public Affairs at the embassy between March 2019 and July 2021.
In his statement, he maintained that his responsibilities during that period did not extend to any aspect of the embassy's financial management, including the operation or closure of bank accounts.
"All payments such as compensations, allowances, benefits, and refunds, that I received during my tenure... were received bona fide by me as a worker, which payments were made in accordance with longstanding established processes," he wrote.
He urged his family, supporters and the broader public to disregard what he described as a distorted narrative designed to falsely implicate him in the alleged scheme.
Read Kofi Tonto's full statement on Facebook below:
How Ghana embassy staff allegedly shared $19.4m
Meanwhile, YEN.com.gh had earlier reported that staff at a Ghanaian diplomatic mission had allegedly established unauthorised fee structures for routine consular services, including passport renewals.
The illicit proceeds, totalling $19.4 million and accumulated over an extended period, were reportedly distributed among key diplomatic personnel.
Accountability groups had called for a parliamentary investigation and the recall of all implicated embassy officials.
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Source: YEN.com.gh
