Kofi Boat
The initiation of extradition processes for self-acclaimed businessman Isaac Oduro Boateng, popularly known as Kofi Boat, is generating a lot of controversies as the Gbese District Court is set to deliver a ruling on the propriety of the extradition order.
At the centre of the controversies is the amount in question for which he is wanted in the United States of America over a complex web of conspiracy involving wire fraud and romance scams involving him and three others.
While there are reports of his involvement in a web of fraud amounting to $100 million over years, new details provided by Ameyaw Debrah suggests that court documents relating to his extradition proceedings only mentions $300,000.
Another issue currently being considered by the Gbese District Court is the legality of the extradition order, as his lawyers have reportedly opposed it on legal grounds, arguing that it was not authenticated by Ghana’s diplomatic mission in the United States.
Reports suggest that the lawyers are seeking to set aside the extradition order for this failure, which it considers very integral to legal requirement under Ghanaian law for the admissibility of such documents.
Another issue in contention is Isaac Oduro Boateng’s link to Frederick Asante, a Ghanaian who was convicted in the United States for wire fraud and romance scams.
His conviction and the subsequent evidence gathered by the FBI, according to reports, play crucial role in the initiation of the extradition proceedings against Kofi Boat.
The FBI reportedly relied on telephone conversations between the two, in which they allegedly discussed payments made to individuals on behalf of Kofi Boat, prompting U.S. investigators to link Kofi Boat to the fraudulent scheme.
As the case unfolds, it remains to be seen whether the court will grant the extradition order or order that the alleged procedural oversight should be corrected.
Kofi Boat, according to reports, is willing to voluntarily surrender himself to the U.S. authorities in a bid to clear his name of the allegations made against him.
Extradition
The Ministry of Interior has issued a formal order for the arrest of four Ghanaian nationals sought by the United States (US) in connection with an alleged multi-million-dollar small business administration and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) fraud scheme.
The wanted individuals — Isaac Oduro Boateng, Inusah Ahmed, Derrick Van Yeboah, and Patrick Kwame Asare — are believed to be hiding in Ghana, sparking a full-blown international manhunt now officially sanctioned by the government.
According to a confidential but now widely circulated extradition order signed by Minister for the Interior, Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak, a requisition was formally lodged by the U.S. government through diplomatic channels. The request seeks the apprehension and extradition of the suspects under Ghana’s Extradition Act, 1960 (Act 22).
The letter, dated March 18, 2025, explicitly called on Ghanaian authorities to issue a warrant for the arrest of all four men. It appears the charges stem from allegations of large-scale fraudulent claims made against U.S. federal relief funds.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak