 |
The
building used by the gang is a far cry from the real US embassy in Accra. US State
Department
|
Authorities in Ghana have
arrested at least three people in connection with the bizarre case of a bogus
US embassy, which was being operated by fraudsters for the last 10 years in the
capital, Accra.
BBC
Africa Live report continues:
The
fraudsters, whose total number has not been disclosed, were busted in a joint
operation by Ghanaian police and the US embassy.
They
are reportedly cooperating with officials who are investigating the extent of
their scam.
The
gang sought clients from Ghana and neighbouring West African countries, and
brought them to a building in Accra where the American flag was flown.
For
a fee of US$6,000 (£4,700), the unsuspecting applicants were issued visas which
were not all fake, suggesting the involvement of insiders at the American
consulate.
The
people reportedly arrested by the police are of Ghanaian and Turkish
nationalities.
The
scam has gone on for this long because the victims have never been to an
embassy - they are mostly from rural areas and they seemed to be reassured by
the presence of what appeared to them to be white people at the fake
embassy.
One more reason why the gang operated successfully for this long was the fact that some of the visas were genuine - and those who travelled to the US unwittingly advertised the fake embassy through word of mouth.
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