[ 2017-04-26 ]

a 10-year visa ban has been placed on the 3 MPs's by the UK government

Visa fraud: UK bans 4 MPs for 10 years
Three current Ghanaian MPs and a former lawmaker
have been cited in separate alleged visa offences
by the UK government and a 10-year visa ban placed
on them by the UK government.

They include: Richard Acheampong, MP for Bia East
in the Western Region; Joseph Benhazin Dahah, MP
for Asutifi North (Ntotroso) in the Brong Ahafo
Region; Johnson Kwaku Adu, MP for Ahafo Ano South
West in the Ashanti Region; and George Boakye,
former MP for Asunafo South in the Brong Ahafo
Region.

A confidential letter written to the Speaker of
Parliament by the UK government through the UK
High Commissioner to Ghana, Mr Jon Benjamin, said
the four MPs violated UK visa regulations on
different occasions by either providing false
information for their visa applications or
facilitating the visas of some relatives who
overstayed their visas in the UK.

The letter addressed to Prof Mike Oquaye said:
“Administrative measures have been taken to
ensure that the Honourable members mentioned here
will most likely not be granted visas for the UK
within the next 10 years. I should add that the
party affiliation of these MPs is, in this
context, irrelevant to us: we simply state the
facts as we have discovered them.

“We are continuing to investigate whether any
other current or former MPs have engaged in
similar behaviour and will inform you, if we
discover any further such cases.

“Furthermore, the British High Commission has
information that points strongly to some of the
aforementioned honourable members having used the
same unofficial visa agent [also known as a
‘Goro boy’] in their applications,
specifically a gentleman called Appiah. We are
sure that Mr Speaker shares our view that an
institution as respected and vitally important as
the Ghanaian Parliament should not be a location
where unregistered visa agents approach Honourable
Members and act as a conduit for them to
participate in visa fraud. The British High
Commission will happily cooperate fully with any
parliamentary and law enforcement investigation
into such agents operating in the vicinity of the
Ghanaian Parliament,” the letter added.

Read the full letter below:

Dear Mr Speaker.

The British High Commission (BHC) would like, in
confidence, to bring the following matters to your
attention, regarding the apparent involvement of
three serving MPs and one former MP in visa fraud
directly affecting the United Kingdom.

In doing so, we note the powerful words in your
impressive inaugural address as Speaker, to the
effect that, for Members of Parliament, holding a
Diplomatic Passport is both a privilege and
responsibility which should not be abused: and
that those who abused that trust would be
appropriately dealt with.
In that regard:

1. On 11/09/2012, the then Honourable and now
former MP for Asunafo South George BOAKYE applied
for visas for himself and his 37-year-old
daughter, Joyce BOAKYE to visit a friend in London
for 17 days. The visas were granted on 14/09/2012.
On 17/01/2013 Joyce BOAKYE travelled to the UK
with her Honourable father.

Joyce BOAKYE did not leave the UK with her father,
but remained until 06/01/2017. In other words, she
finally returned to Ghana just this month, having
been in the UK illegally for over three years, and
only then at our strong urging of Mr Boakye to
bring her back. Mr Boakye is highly unlikely to be
issued any further visas to visit the UK in the
next ten years for his role in facilitating his
daughter's travel to the UK, including should he
be re-elected to Parliament in a subsequent
election.

2. On 27/11/2015 the Honourable MP for Bia East
Richard ACHEAMPONG applied for a UK visa using
Diplomatic Passport number DX001490. The Hon
ACHEAMPONG stated in his application form that he
would travel to the UK for a two week holiday with
his “wife" Esther TIWAA. On 10/12/2015 Mr
ACHEAMPONG and Ms TIWAA were issued with UK visas.
On 24/12/2015 Esther TIWAA travelled to the UK,
but alone: the Hon ACHEAMPONG did not accompany
her as both his and her visa applications said
that he would. She has not left the UK since that
time, and is, therefore, now there illegally. The
Hon ACHEAMPONG did not declare the illegal
presence of his wife in the UK until he was
challenged with the facts by us on 10/10/2016.

He then repeatedly promised me personally that he
would bring documentation to prove that Esther
TIWAA was, indeed, his wife, but has consistently
failed to do so Neither has he been prepared to
share any useful information to help us track down
Ms TIWAA's current whereabouts. Should Mr
ACHEAMPONG now apply for another UK visa at any
point up until 08/12/2025 his previous actions
with regard to Esther TIWAA will weigh heavily
against his application and he is likely to be
refused.

3. On 06/04/2016, the Honourable MP for Ntotroso.
Joseph Benhazin DAHAH applied for a UK visa using
Diplomatic Passport number DX001459 to go on a two
week holiday. The Hon DAHAH stated that he was
travelling with his wife Gloria DANSU and his
niece Beatrice MENSAH On 11/04/2016 the visas of
the Hon DAHAH and Gloria DANSU were issued; the
visa of his niece Beatrice MENSAH was refused. On
13/05/2016 the Hon DAHAH applied in another
country for a visa to travel to the Republic of
Ireland with his wife and daughter. The identity
of his wife had changed from Gloria DANSU in the
UK application to Ruyling APPAU in the Irish one.


More significantly, a birth certificate was
submitted showing that Beatrice MENSAH was now his
daughter and not his niece as she had been
described when applying to visit the UK. The Hon
DAHAH's UK visa was cancelled and a 10-year UK
visa ban has been imposed on him. He has been
informed of this.

4. On 20/06/2016 the Honourable MP for Ahafo Ano
South West, Johnson Kwaku ADU applied for visas
for himself, his wife Grace YEBOAH and their
16-year old daughter Emmanuella ADU in order to
visit London for a ten day holiday. The Hon ADU
applied using Diplomatic Passport number DX002267;
all three visas were granted on 07/07/2016.

The family of three travelled to the UK on
25/07/2016. The Hon ADU left the UK just two days
later on 27/07/2016 leaving behind his wife and
child, if that indeed is what they are, who have
not left the UK to date and are therefore now
illegally resident there. This is in some ways the
most serious of the cases outlined in this letter,
given the possibility that Hon ADU knowingly
facilitated the movement of a minor - who cannot
currently be traced - into the United Kingdom.
That has been noted with alarm by UK authorities.

The British High Commission considers the actions
outlined above to be completely unacceptable. In
some cases, these behaviours may arguably be
criminal in nature. As already outlined,
administrative measures have been taken to ensure
that the Honourable members mentioned here will
most likely not be granted visas for the UK within
the next 10 years.

I should add that the Party affiliation of these
MPs is, in this context, irrelevant to us: we
simply state the facts as we have discovered them.
We are continuing to investigate whether any other
current or former MPs have engaged in similar
behaviour and will inform you, if we discover any
further such cases.

Furthermore, the British High Commission has
information that points strongly to some of the
aforementioned Honourable members having used the
same unofficial visa agent (also known as a‘Goro
boy’) in their applications, specifically a
gentleman called Appiah.

We are sure that Mr Speaker shares our view that
an institution as respected and vitally important
as the Ghanaian Parliament should not be a
location where unregistered visa agents approach
Honourable Members and act as a conduit for them
to participate in visa fraud. The British High
Commission will happily cooperate fully with any
parliamentary and law enforcement investigation
into such agents operating in the vicinity of the
Ghanaian Parliament.

Given what has transpired, the British High
Commission would request the Ghanaian Parliament
to be aware of the following:

a) we will henceforth only entertain and
prioritise requests for visas from MPs, if they
are made through the parliamentary protocol office
who should verify that there is an official,
parliamentary reason for the proposed visit;

b) however, MPs wishing to make private visits to
the UK or to be accompanied on official visits by
non-official relatives must apply online and
through our Visa Application Centre at the
Movenpick Hotel like any other applicant;

c) could you kindly confirm whether and why it is
legitimate for ex-MPs to continue to possess and
use diplomatic passports, in some cases for many
years after they have ceased to be
parliamentarians? In that regard, we would humbly
like to ask, Mr Speaker, what procedures are in
place to ensure that diplomatic passports are
removed forthwith from all those 133 former
Members who have just ceased to be MPs?

d) the net effect of such visa fraud by a very few
Honourable MPs as outlined in this letter is to
raise the bar of suspicion against all such
applicants, which is of course regrettably to the
huge disadvantage of those very many MPs who do
act honourably at all times.

The British High Commission looks forward to a
constructive relationship with yourself, your
officers and the new Parliament in general and on
specific issues, such as the work currently being
sponsored by the Westminster Foundation for
Democracy to bolster Parliament's research
capacities. We hope, at the same time, that
measures taken by us all collectively will prevent
any repeat of the sort of cases described in this
letter. We would warmly welcome your views on the
issues raised in this letter, both in regards to
the specific cases and generic issues.

I am copying this letter to your Protocol Office,
and to the Executive Secretary and Chief-of-Staff
to the His Excellency President; and to the
Ministers-designate of Foreign Affairs and
National Security. We are also circulating this
letter widely to other Diplomatic Missions which
issue visas in Ghana in the expectation that some
of them will consider similar action to ourselves
against the above-named individuals.

May I take this opportunity to repeat to you
assurances of our very high regard for you and
your office; and to wish you, Mr Speaker, every
success in your new role. Please be assured of our
commitment to collaborate with you, and through
you with Parliament, wherever we can usefully be
of assistance.

Signed,
Jon Benjamin
British High Commissioner

Source - classfmonline.com

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