A high-profile cybercrime syndicate operating out of Ghana has been dismantled following a coordinated international crackdown involving the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Interpol, and Ghanaian authorities. Three Ghanaian nationals, Isaac Kofi Oduro Boateng, also known as Kofi Boat (believed to be the ringleader), Inusah Ahmed, and Derrick Van Yeboah, were apprehended in Accra on June 13, 2025, and are now facing extradition to the United States.
The suspects allegedly orchestrated a sophisticated fraud network that operated between 2016 and 2023, targeting U.S. businesses and vulnerable individuals, especially the elderly, through Business Email Compromise (BEC) schemes and romance scams. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, the group impersonated legitimate business executives via email to trick employees into transferring large sums. In some cases, victims of romance scams were manipulated over months, losing their life savings to fabricated relationships.
The arrests followed an extradition request issued through the U.S. Embassy in Accra, backed by a formal warrant signed by Ghana’s Interior Minister, Mohammed-Mubarak Muntaka, on March 18, 2025. A fourth suspect remains at large.
Charges Against the Suspects:
– Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud: Carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison
– Money Laundering: Carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison
If extradited and convicted in a U.S. federal court, the suspects could face multiple charges with combined penalties of up to 40 years in prison. The investigation highlights the growing collaboration between international agencies to dismantle transnational cybercrime networks.