The five-member ad-hoc Committee constituted by Parliament to investigate the alleged extortion of expatriates who participated in the December 2017 Ghana Expatriates Business Awards (GEBA) has began public sittings on the matter.

The Trade Ministry headed by Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen is alleged to have charged expatriates up to $100,000 for access to President Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo during the awards event.

Although the Presidency has said the Trade Ministry did no wrong in commercializing the Presidential Table at the event, Minority legislators have accused the Ministry of preying on the expatriates and charging them huge sums of money at the same event that is aimed at honoring them.

On the December 29, 2017, an application by the Minority-led by its chief whip, Alhaji Mohammed Mubarak-Muntaka filed a motion, calling for investigations into the levy and collection by the Ministry of Trade and Industry of the Ghana cedi equivalent of various sums of money in US dollars, from expatriate businesses and related matters during the recently held Ghana Expatriate Business Awards in Accra.

Watch a livestream of the sitting here