Dancehall singer Shatta Wale was taken into custody in his hometown of Accra as part of investigations into his purchase of a Lamborghini, Ghana’s Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO) said on Thursday.
Fans gathered outside the building to call for the singer’s release. The investigators said he had been granted bail for 10 million cedi (roughly €800,000 or $900,000) and would leave detention once his guarantors were verified.
“Charles Nii Armah Mensah, aka Shatta Wale was invited by EOCO to assist in investigations surrounding a 2019 Lamborghini Urus, a car identified by the FBI and US Justice Department as proceeds of a $4 million crime involving, one Nana Kwabena Amuah, a Ghanaian who is currently serving jail time in the US,” the EOCO said in a statement published on Thursday.
The case is part of a broader probe into an alleged crime network targeting US citizens.
What do we know about Wale’s Lamborghini purchase?
The EOCO said it identified and seized the Lamborghini SUV “in or around May this year” after being asked to track down the vehicle by US authorities.
The Urus is a four wheel drive performance SUV, the first car of its kind made by the Italian company better known for its supercars.
The EOCO said it invited Wale to submit to questioning “following a public claim by Charles Nii Arma Mensah that he purchased the car at a price of $150,000 from an unidentified party.”
Wale apparently arrived on Wednesday afternoon, but the EOCO complained that his lawyer was delayed by several hours, and that the interrogation ran well past the office’s typical closing time that night.
Investigators said that, so far, the singer “has been unable to identify the person from whom he purchased” the car, except to say he bought it “from the ‘Street’ and from someone possibly called ‘ZAK,’ who may have contacted him on WhatsApp but whose identity he does not know and whose contact he has thrown away.”
According to the EOCO, Wale did not have paperwork such as proof of purchase or deeds of ownership of the vehicle, and was only in possession of a custom declaration document “bearing the name of Nana Kwabena Amuah, who is currently in jail.” The singer has previously denied any knowledge of or ties to Amuah.
Wale’s fans support their ‘king’
Outside the EOCO’s gates, supporters from the “Shatta Movement” chanted and held up photos of the star’s image on Thursday.
“Until our king walks out, we won’t move — even if we sleep here,” the AFP news agency quoted one fan as saying.
The musician’s legal team has previously said that Wale bought the car in good faith and with no knowledge of any criminal links. His management company said he was voluntarily cooperating with the investigation, not mentioning the ties to the US and saying the case concerned “tax obligations.”
Edited by: Darko Janjevic
