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 insists that Tribe Culture Fest had no direct financial dealings with the individuals and has challenged the Minister for Sports and Recreation, Kofi Adams, to provide evidence to support the allegations.
Speaking to the media on Sunday, October 18, Mr Gyimah rejected claims attributed to the Minister that he and his organisation had unlawfully collected the money and were refusing to refund it.
“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 the organisation’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).
According to him, Tribe Culture Fest charged US$3,000 and US$2,000 as full and final payments for services, including event arrangements, travel logistics, hotel bookings, transportation and security.
He stressed that the 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 at the NSA who had promised to secure visas, particularly for travel to the United States and Canada.
He maintained, however, that Tribe Culture Fest had not received any money from those individuals.
To establish responsibility for the disputed payments, the CEO called for evidence identifying 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.
“These are not unreasonable demands. They are minimum evidentiary requirements for determining responsibility in a matter of this nature,” he said.
