Lawyer defends former NSA Boss, says he’s innocent

Jerry Avenorgbor, Lawyer for suspended National Sports Authority (NSA) Director General Yaw Ampofo Ankrah, has denied allegations that his client was involved in a visa facilitation scheme linked to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Mr Avenorgbor said the ongoing investigation would clear Mr Ampofo Ankrah, insisting that his client neither collected money from individuals seeking visa assistance nor facilitated any such arrangements.

“My client has not done it. My client has not been in physical form, present with anybody, collected and taken money to do anything,” he said on Eyewitness News on Thursday, October 1, 2026.

President John Dramani Mahama suspended Mr Ampofo Ankrah to allow investigations into the allegations to proceed.

The allegations concern claims that more than $600,000 was collected from individuals seeking assistance with visa and travel arrangements for the 2026 World Cup.

The Minority in Parliament has alleged that some applicants were charged as much as $8,000.

Mr Avenorgbor, however, dismissed the allegations as false and said they were intended to damage his client’s reputation.

“These are falsities and untruths,” he said, adding that “investigations will reveal the pure truth behind what is happening.”

He clarified that the investigation is being conducted by the Economic  Crime Unit at the Police Headquarters and not the Bureau of National Investigation (BNI), as suggested in some reports.

“The matter as we speak is at the police headquarters, the economic unit, and they’ve been investigating for weeks now,” he said.

According to Mr Avenorgbor, investigators have already invited several individuals and organisations in connection with the matter.

He also sought to distinguish the NSA from Tribe, a company he said was involved in World Cup-related activities and had documentation supporting its operations.

“It’s not the NSA that Tribe worked for,” he said.

The lawyer maintained that the investigation would clarify the various claims surrounding the matter and urged the public to allow the process to take its course.

“My client has not done anything in this regard. This is information being peddled to denigrate the reputation of my client,” he said.

He added that the facts would emerge as the investigation progresses.

“Time will reveal, and that’s it,” he said.

Source: Citi Sports