Fresh evidence deepens concerns over Indian woman’s alleged fraudulent acquisition of Ghanaian citizenship

Fresh evidence has surfaced indicating that Niharika Handa, who allegedly acquired Ghanaian citizenship without meeting key immigration requirements, may also have engaged in identity fraud not only in Ghana but in several other countries.

This follows earlier concerns raised by investigators about how Ms. Handa and her son, Vasu Handa, obtained Ghanaian citizenship and passports after residing in the country for fewer years than the mandatory requirement, and why the birth year listed in her Ghanaian passport (September 14, 1965) differs from that in her Indian passport, which records September 14, 1961.

In response to media reports about her alleged use of false pretenses to acquire a Ghanaian passport, Ms. Handa’s lawyer, Thaddeus Sory, issued a statement claiming the discrepancy in birth years was “obviously a clerical error”. Despite this claim, it has emerged that Ms. Handa has done little, if anything, to correct the supposed error over the years.

But then it has since emerged  that Niharika Handa acquired a GhanaCard on July 8, 2022 with the same year of birth (1965) in her passport, which her lawyers attribute to “a clerical error”. What is even more curious is that her Ghana passport was issued on July 20, 2022 – almost two weeks after the issuance of her GhanaCard, raising glaring questions about how two competent state institutions recorded the same birth year she now claims to be a clerical error, without any intention on Miss Niharika Handa’s part to deceive.

While claiming that the birthdate in her passport is an error without taking any steps to correct the so-called error, Miss Handa has continued to use the Ghanaian passport for international travel, securing visas for the UK, Schengen countries, Dubai, and Morocco, as well as opening bank accounts and new businesses in Ghana, the UK, Austria, and elsewhere.

At Ghana’s Registrar-General’s Department, she even updated company records to reflect the birthdate, the clerical error, in her passport. For instance, she amended the records of Gold Crest Refinery by replacing her earlier date of birth from the Indian passport (September 14, 1961) with the disputed date in her Ghanaian passport (September 14, 1965). With such widespread use of the altered birth year, investigators have raised the question as to whether this discrepancy is the simple or “obvious” clerical mistake her lawyer claims.

This prompted investigators to probe more deeply into Niharika Handa’s background. In addition to criminal court cases in India where she faced 14 non-bailable arrest warrants, and was declared an absconder and proclaimed offender, even as she was working on her naturalisation in Ghana, new findings suggest she has been involved in broader schemes which border on identity fraud.

In India, for example, Ms. Handa’s taxpayer identification card (PAN) and her driver’s licence both record her birth year as 1964. This means she has three conflicting birth years: 1961 on her Indian passport, 1964 on her PAN and driver’s licence, and 1965 on her Ghanaian passport. Investigators are therefore left mystified and asking – which is Ms. Handa’s real date of birth? Evidence further shows she has used all three dates of birth to open bank accounts and establish businesses in different countries.

“If a respected member of Ghana’s legal fraternity insists this is merely a clerical error, then as a country we must ask ourselves where we are heading. These discrepancies in birth dates clearly point to an attempt to deceive authorities globally and make it difficult for them to track down Niharika Handa,” an intelligence source said. “Far from a clerical error, this is a calculated deception for the purpose of hiding her criminal background, which is something the immigration authorities should have investigated before granting her citizenship in a short time.”

Also alarming is the fact that Niharika Handa’s son, Punar Vasu Handa, appears involved in similar identity fraud. His Ghanaian passport lists his date of birth as December 7, 1985, while his Indian PAN card records it as February 7, 1985.

Before traveling from India to Dubai in 2015, he reportedly obtained a new passport declaring his date of birth as December 7, 1985, while claiming his old passport had been lost. Investigators are working with the assumption that the original passport reflected the date on his PAN card, and that he had the date of birth changed in the new passport with the intention to evade Indian immigration checks.

“This points to an identity fraud of international magnitude perpetrated by this woman and her son,” the intelligence source said. “Identity fraud is often the foundation of financial fraud. Normally, individuals do not alter their personal details; it is only when there is intent to deceive or to defraud that such manipulation is undertaken to bypass system checks.”

He continued: “To prevent such dubious foreigners from exploiting Ghana’s systems, immigration authorities must insist on police clearance reports from applicants’ home countries before issuing residence permits. For the granting of Ghanaian citizenship, far more thorough background checks by immigration authorities are essential.

Fraudsters gaining Ghanaian citizenship directly undermines the reputation of Ghana’s passport and the relaxed visa regimes it currently enjoys with certain countries. At the same time, Ghana must confront the growing nexus between criminals and those tasked with upholding or defending the law.”

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