There Was a Double Faked US Embassy in Ghana

Africa is currently recognized as a fraud hotspot due to persistent internet scams. And while fraud committed online or over the phone is simple to understand, the phony embassy scam perpetrated in Ghana is on a whole different level.

Authorities in 2016 paid particular attention to the US Embassy in Accra, Ghana. The embassy had been conducting the usual activities of an embassy for ten years, such as providing visas. Outside, an American flag was flying, and a picture of Barack Obama was hanging on the wall. However, the embassy was a fake. For about $6000, con artists were selling counterfeit documents.

As part of a combined operation between US and Ghanaian forces, the fake embassy was stormed and the con artists were detained, shutting down the entire operation. The US Department of State provided all of this information, which is still detailed on their website. But here is when things start to become strange.

An investigative journalist chose to follow up with Ghanaian police, who were unaware of the nature of the tale. The Ghana Detectives Bureau, which the State Department claims to have worked with on the raid, is not even a legitimate Ghanaian law enforcement agency.

The raid was not carried out by local police, and no other police officers nationwide were aware of it. Additionally, one of the fraud investigators who would have been working on a case similar to this if it were true took the photograph of the fictitious embassy that was included with the story. In response to a tip that the facility was granting fraudulent visas, he shot the photo early this year, but he discovered nothing there. He also took other images at different locations and times.

This false embassy is a double fake, as far as anyone can determine. Since the State Department has stuck to its story despite a mountain of evidence that the story of the fake embassy is false, it appears that they faked it for unknown reasons. In this case, the fake was made from scratch. Perhaps for PR purposes, perhaps not. It's difficult to say when nobody is defending themselves.