Two officials of Ghana Commonwealth Games delegation suspended over visa fraud

By Alex Osei-Boateng

ACCRA, April 5 (Xinhua) -- Two officials of Ghana's contingent at the Commonwealth Games in Australia have been suspended over visa fraud, Evans Yeboah, an official of the Ghana Olympic Committee(GOC) said Thursday.

Husseini Akueteh Addy and Christine Ashley have been asked to step aside following allegations that they were involved in keying in names of 50 fake journalists for them to travel for the competition, according to local media reports.

The GOC order forms part of efforts by the sports ministry to unearth the truth behind the alleged visa fraud which has led to the deportation of 50 supposed Ghanaian journalists by immigration authorities of Australia and transit countries like Singapore.

The deputy sports minister Pius Hadzide told local media on Thursday that the Ghanaians facing deportation from Australia received final endorsement from the GOC before traveling to Australia.

But the GOC has denied facilitating the travels for the Ghanaians, he said.

"However, my checks from the Games organizers in Australia indicate that when they receive these nominations, they seek clarification and validation from the GOC before they are allowed to travel," he said. Enditem