Nana Boateng Gyimah, the chief executive of Tribe Culture Fest, has rejected allegations that he and his organisation were involved in an ongoing investigation into a visa scandal linked to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Gyimah said Tribe Culture Fest’s work was legitimate and had been carried out in collaboration with the National Sports Authority (NSA) and the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) on a range of programmes.
He also disputed claims that people had paid between $14,000 and $20,000 to secure travel arrangements, saying Tribe Culture Fest charged between $2,000 and $3,000 for its services.
“Our attention has been drawn to claims that individuals paid as much as $14,000 to $20,000 to persons at the NSA with the promise of securing visas for travel to the United States, Canada and Mexico, particularly the United States and Canada,” Gyimah said at a news conference.
“We wish to set the record straight that, under the arrangement between Tribe, the NSA and other institutions, we charged $3,000 and $2,000 as full and final payments for our role in event logistics, travel logistics, hotel bookings, transportation and security.
“We have at no point received payments from any individual in the manner being alleged.”
Gyimah was also responding to claims attributed to Minister of Sports and Recreation Kofi Adams that about $611,000 had been collected illegally from individuals who were promised visa assistance but had neither received the service nor been refunded.
Tribe Culture Fest and its CEO denied receiving that money.
“Our response to the allegations concerning $611,000. Tribe Culture Fest and its Chief Executive Officer, myself, Nana Gyimah, categorically deny the allegations attributed to the Minister for Sports and Recreation, Honourable Kofi Adams, that our organisation or its CEO illegally received $611,000 from private individuals and is avoiding a refund,” he said.
“We do not accept the presentation of this allegation as a fact. Our position is clear: Tribe did not receive the alleged $611,000 from the private individuals referred to in the public allegation, and we did not enter into personal financial arrangements being attributed to us.”
The organisation called for a transparent investigation and said seven areas should be examined to establish who was responsible for the transactions.
It urged investigators to identify the individuals alleged to have made the payments and the people or organisations that actually received the funds.
It also called for verification of the dates, amounts, currencies and payment methods involved, as well as the bank accounts, mobile money accounts and any other channels used to transfer the money, where legally obtainable.
Tribe Culture Fest further requested the examination of any agreements, receipts, acknowledgements or other records said to show that it or Gyimah received funds.
The organisation said investigators should also establish the specific legal and contractual basis for any claim that Tribe Culture Fest was obliged to issue a refund, and identify those who authorised, facilitated or controlled the transactions.