According to a statement
released by the U.S. State Department, the sham embassy operated in Accra in a
run-down, pink, two-storey building with a corrugated iron roof and flew a U.S.
flag outside. Inside the office is a portrait of President Barack Obama.
A fake United States
Embassy has been busted in Ghana after operating illegally for a decade.
It was operated by a cartel
that issued illegally obtained but legitimate visas.
“It was not operated by the
United States government, but by figures from both Ghanaian and Turkish
organised crime rings and a Ghanaian attorney practicing immigration and
criminal law,” the State Department said in its statement.
Turkish citizens, who spoke
English and Dutch, posed as consular officers and staffed the operation. The
syndicate issued fraudulently obtained but legitimate U.S. visas and false
identification documents, including birth certificates at a cost of $6,000
each.
During the raid at the sham
embassy, several persons were arrested while items seized include authentic and
counterfeit Indian, South African and Schengen Zone visas as well as 150
passports from 10 different countries along with a laptop and smart phones.
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