ACCRA: Authorities busted a fake US embassy functioning in Ghana capital Accra, run by a criminal for the past decade, as informed by the US State Department. Until it was shut down, it issued illegally obtained authentic visas, and was housed in a run-down, pink two-storey building with a US flag flying outside. It even hung a portrait of President Barack Obama.
"It was not operated by the United States government, but by figures from both Ghanian and Turkish organised crime rings and a Ghanian attorney practising immigration and criminal law," the State Department said in a statement. Turkish citizens, who spoke fluent English and Dutch, posed as consular officers and staffed the operation. The fake institution issued fraudulently obtained but legitimate US visas and false identification documents, including birth certificates, at a cost of $6000 each. During raids leading to a number of arrests, officials seized authentic and counterfeit Indian, South African and Schengen Zone visas, and 150 passports from 10 different countries along with a laptop and smart phones.
"The criminals running the operation were able to pay off corrupt officials to look the other way, as well as obtain legitimate blank documents to be doctored," the statement said. It however, did not mention how the gang obtained the visas and did not say how many people were believed to have illegally entered the United States and other countries using visas issued by the crime ring.
The fake US embassy was open three mornings a week and did not accept walk-in appointments. The criminals instead, advertised on billboards in Ghana, Togo, and Ivory Coast and brought clients from across West Africa to Accra where they rented them hotel rooms in nearby hotels. US authorities conducting a broader security operation were tipped off about it and assembled a team including the Ghana Detectives Bureau and police along with other international partners to shut the place down.
