Kofi Tonto, a former Head of Information and Public Affairs at Ghana’s Embassy in Washington, has denied any involvement in an alleged Ghana Embassy Washington fraud scheme reportedly involving US$19 million, saying an $800 payment he received was a legitimate child benefit.
Mr Tonto issued the clarification on Wednesday, August 12, 2026, following an online publication alleging that he received part of the funds linked to the reported scheme.
He said the claim was misleading and insisted that he had never participated in the receipt or distribution of illegally obtained money.
Tonto explains $800 payment
According to Mr Tonto, the US$800 payment was made to him in July 2021 following the birth of his daughter in January that year.
He said the payment was a standard child benefit available to staff and was not something he requested or determined.
“The amount of $800 which I received in July 2021 was money which was lawfully paid to me as a child benefit package for the birth of my daughter,” he said.
Mr Tonto further noted that about 28 other staff members received benefits for various life changing events, according to the audit report.
He argued that the one time payment could not reasonably be used to connect him to an alleged scheme said to have generated US$19 million.
Says audit did not name him
Mr Tonto said the forensic audit conducted by the Ghana Audit Service into the Embassy’s affairs between 2017 and 2025 did not identify him as a person of interest for investigation.
He also stressed that he had no role in the financial management of the Embassy, particularly decisions concerning the opening, operation or closure of bank accounts.
He served as Head of Information and Public Affairs from March 2019 to July 2021.
Rejects allegations
Mr Tonto said all compensation, allowances, benefits and refunds he received during his tenure were received “bona fide” as an employee and were processed through established procedures.
“I have never been involved in any scheme, the sharing of, or the receipt of any ill obtained funds,” he said.
He urged relatives, friends and members of the public to disregard what he described as a distorted account intended to falsely implicate him.
The allegations follow scrutiny of financial transactions at Ghana’s Washington Embassy covering several years. Mr Tonto’s statement seeks to draw a clear distinction between the child benefit he received and any alleged fraudulent activity uncovered in the audit.
He maintained that he neither knew the source of the payment nor had authority over how Embassy funds were managed.
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