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Ghanaian businessman Isaac Kofi Oduro Boateng, popularly known as Kofi Boat, is challenging his extradition to the United States, where he faces serious allegations of leading a cybercrime syndicate that defrauded individuals and businesses of over $100 million between 2016 and 2023.
Appearing before the Gbese District Court on Friday, 20 June 2025, Boat’s legal counsel argued that the extradition process was flawed. According to journalist Ameyaw Debrah, who provided exclusive insights from the courtroom, the defence claimed that the U.S. government had not followed the correct legal procedure.
Kofi Boat’s lawyer challenged the admissibility of the U.S. arrest warrant, arguing it had not been authenticated by Ghana’s diplomatic mission in the United States, Debrah revealed in a Facebook post. This authentication is a legal requirement under Ghanaian law for such documents to be considered admissible.
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The magistrate has since adjourned the case to 1 July 2025 for a ruling on the procedural challenge.
Boat, who was arrested on Friday, 13 June 2025, in a joint operation involving the Ghana Police Service, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and Interpol, has denied any involvement in cyber fraud. His legal team insisted that his business activities in the U.S. were legitimate.
The businessman’s arrest came alongside those of Inusah Ahmed, also known as Pascal—owner of PAC Academy—and Derrick Van Yeboah. A fourth suspect, Patrick Kwame Asare, is currently at large. The arrests are part of a broader clampdown by U.S. authorities targeting cybercrime networks operating from Ghana.
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According to the defence, the charges against Boat stem from a business transaction with another Ghanaian individual who has already been convicted of fraud in the United States. Boat maintains that the transaction was entirely lawful and that he had no further involvement in the fraudulent activities attributed to the other party.
He is not the leader of a criminal network, He engaged in a single business deal that has now been mischaracterised as part of a wider fraudulent scheme
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The U.S. Department of State formally requested the extradition through its embassy in Accra, with supporting documents reportedly signed by Ghana’s Minister of the Interior, Honourable Alhaji Muntaka Mubarak.
In a related development earlier this year, another Ghanaian entrepreneur, Joseph Kwadwo Badu Boateng, also known as Dada Joe Remix, was extradited to the U.S. and charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering.
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As legal proceedings continue, attention remains focused on whether Ghana’s judiciary will uphold or reject the extradition request based on the defence’s procedural objections.