$611,000 World Cup visa scandal: Tribe Culture Fest challenges Kofi Adams to provide proof
The Chief Executive Officer of Tribe Culture Fest, Nana Boateng Gyimah, has denied allegations that the organisation received US$611,000 from individuals seeking to travel to the United States, Canada and Mexico for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Mr Gyimah has challenged the Minister for Sports and Recreation, Kofi Adams, to provide evidence to substantiate the allegations, insisting that neither he nor his organisation received the money in question from the individuals.
Speaking to the media on Sunday, October 18, he rejected claims attributed to the minister that Tribe Culture Fest had unlawfully collected the funds and was refusing to refund them.
“Our position is clear. Tribe did not receive the alleged 611,000 from the private individuals referred to in the public allegation, and we do not enter into personal financial arrangements being attributed to us,” he said.
Mr Gyimah explained that Tribe Culture Fest’s engagements relating to the programmes in question were governed by institutional contracts with the National Sports Authority (NSA) and, where applicable, the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA).
He said the organisation charged US$3,000 and US$2,000 as full and final payments for services covering event arrangements, travel logistics, hotel bookings, transportation and security.
According to him, these payments were made under agreements with the relevant institutions and were separate from any personal financial arrangements involving individuals seeking visas to travel for the tournament.
Mr Gyimah further alleged that some individuals had paid between US$14,000 and US$20,000 to persons within the NSA who had promised to secure visas, particularly for travel to the United States and Canada.
He maintained that Tribe Culture Fest had not received any money from those individuals and called for documentary evidence to establish who was responsible for the disputed transactions.
The CEO urged the relevant parties to provide details of the individuals who made the payments, the recipients, the amounts involved and the methods used to transfer the funds.
“We need to see the bank records, the mobile money records, the agreements, the receipts and acknowledgements to establish whether Tribe Culture Fest or its CEO received any of the money. We also need to know the legal or contractual basis for demanding a refund and who authorised or facilitated these transactions,” he said.
Mr Gyimah described these as minimum evidentiary requirements for determining responsibility, insisting that any demand for a refund should be supported by records establishing who received the money and under what arrangement.
His comments follow allegations that US$611,000 was collected from individuals seeking to travel to North America for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with the minister reportedly linking the payments to Tribe Culture Fest.
Mr Gyimah has denied the allegations, maintaining that the organisation’s contractual engagements with the NSA and GTA were distinct from the disputed personal payments.
