A ten-member team from the United States Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) and Department of Justice (DoJ) have commended Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO) on successes chalked in the fight against organized crime and romance fraud in Ghana.
The team led by Arun G. Rao, Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Civil Division of the US Department of Justice, were on a familiarization visit to Ghana to meet with key Partner Agencies.
The meeting was to discuss ways to strengthen collaboration between the Agencies and chart a course for future interaction and support to fulfill their individual mandates as crime fighters.
Some key pointers included shortening the time it takes to access Mutual Legal Assistance from the USA and the need to be able to acquire evidential material as quickly as possible for successful prosecutions.
The Team pledged their support to EOCO by facilitating the prosecution of EOCO cases involving persons in their jurisdiction.
There were also discussions to assist with evidence from the US to assist with EOCO prosecutions in Ghana and further support with information and facilitate asset recovery in Ghana.
Present at the meeting were both Deputy Executive Directors responsible for Intelligence and Operations, Aba J. Opoku Esq. and Bashiru Dapilah Esq respectively, and some select Unit Heads.
In the past months, Ghanaian social media influencer Hajia 4Real has been under investigation after she was extradited from the United Kingdom to the US for allegedly swindling over $2 million from older, single American men and women in a twisted lonely hearts scam.
The FBI in a statement indicated she had been charged with several counts, including conspiracy to commit fraud and money laundering.
Court documents revealed that Hajia 4Real allegedly duped a victim into sending her $89,000 through 82 wire transfers on the pretext of helping her father’s farm in Ghana.
