[ 2016-12-05 ]

Fake US embassy in Ghana shut down after a decade
It flew the American flag, hung a photo of
President Obama and issued US visas for more than
a decade.

But a building that operated as a US embassy in
Ghana was a fake, the US State Department says.

The enterprise, which issued fraudulently obtained
legitimate visas, counterfeit visas, and other
false identification documents, was overseen by
figures from Ghanaian and Turkish crime rings
working in cahoots with corrupt Ghanaian
officials, the US State Department said in a
statement. It operated three days a week in Accra,
the capital.

The State Department did not say how many people
may have entered the United States illegally using
documentation issued by the crime ring, nor did it
say how the ring may have obtained official
documents.

Visas and passports from 10 different countries
were found during raids on the nondescript stucco
building with the corrugated tin roof, the State
Department said.

Authorities shut down the operation after
receiving a tip last summer and conducting a joint
investigation by diplomatic security agents at the
real US embassy in Ghana, Ghanian authorities and
other international partners.

The operation also uncovered a fake Dutch embassy
in Accra, the State Department said.

Authorities in Ghana and the Netherlands did not
immediately respond to a request by CNN for more
information.

The sham embassy advertised its services through
fliers and billboards to cultivate customers from
Ghana and neighboring countries, the State
Department said.

Source - CNN

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