Kofi Tonto explains $800 embassy payment, denies link to alleged $19m fraud
Kofi Tonto, former Head of Information and Public Affairs at Ghana's Embassy in Washington, denied any involvement in an alleged fraudulent scheme resulting in the loss of approximately US$19 million at the embassy. His denial, issued in Accra on Wednesday, August 12, 2026, followed reports alleging he received US$800 from funds linked to the purported scheme. Tonto stated, "I have never been involved in any scheme, the sharing of, or the receipt of any ill-obtained funds."
Tonto clarified that the US$800 he received in July 2021 was a legitimate child benefit payment after his daughter's birth in January 2021. He explained this was an established practice, with about 28 other staff members receiving similar benefits. He also noted he was not named as a person of interest in the forensic audit conducted by the Ghana Audit Service into the embassy's affairs between 2017 and 2025. Tonto argued the one-time US$800 payment could not implicate him in an alleged US$19 million fraudulent scheme.
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Kofi Tonto, former Head of Information and Public Affairs at Ghana's Embassy in Washington, has addressed reports linking him to an alleged US$19
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