Shockwaves in Ghana: Renowned singer Shatta Wale’s Lamborghini seized in $4M fraud scandal

Ghana: Ghanaian singer Shatta Wale is under investigation following his purchase in 2019 of a yellow Lamborghini Urus. On August 21, Ghana's Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) stated that the globally recognized artist, known for his hit single 'Already' featuring Beyoncé, was taken into custody along with his luxury yellow vehicle to assist in an investigation into a US fraud allegedly linked to his vehicle.

EOCO said that Wale, whose real name is Charles Nii Armah, voluntarily appeared for questioning on Wednesday as part of a US government request to investigate the origins of his 2019 luxury vehicle allegedly tied to the proceeds of a criminal fraud enterprise. 

The US claimed that the ongoing investigation into the artist is part of a larger investigation into a 4 million dollar crime that occurred in the US a few years ago involving some Ghanaians and this is just the recovery of the crime's proceeds. 

According to sources the probing is centered from the 2023 sentencing of Nana Kwabena Amuah, a Ghanaian national, who was sentenced to seven years in the US federal prison for the role he played in a $4 million scheme to defraud the city of Lexington, Kentucky. 

Amuah allegedly impersonated non-profit organisations and tricked city officials into wiring money into a series of shell companies.

According to EOCO, the US authorities suspect that Wale was tied to Nana and used the proceeds from the Kentucky case to make the 2019 Lamborghini Urus purchase. 

Claims that Wale has denied in questioning noting that he did not even know Amuah nor does he know the identity of the individual he bought the car from as he was  a ‘third party owner’ of the yellow Lamborghini. 

Following his release on $454,000 bail on Thursday, his legal team have expressed that Wale is fully prepared to cooperate in the investigation and resolve the matter with the authorities. 

Wale’s Lamborghini is seized as part of a broader operation as Ghanaian authorities have been working with the US to dismantle all international fraud systems that target Americans. 

So far this month the  FBI and US Justice Department have managed to extradite and arrest 3 Ghanaian nationals who were allegedly masterminds in a $100 million scheme, involving phishing attacks and romance scams.