Ghanaian influencer and businessman Abu Trica (Frederick Kumi) has told the High Court in Accra that the luxury vehicles — including a Lamborghini, Mercedes-Benz and Tesla Cybertruck — found at his Airport Residential Area apartment were not his personal cars but faulty vehicles left in his care for sale by clients, his lawyers told the court on Tuesday.
In a legal filing challenging the seizure, Abu Trica insists the supercars were part of his legitimate vehicle brokerage and consignment sales business, and that he never claimed ownership. The defence argues the cars were being stored, valued and prepared for resale on behalf of third-party owners — a normal industry practice — and should not be treated as criminal evidence without proof of ownership.
Abu Trica in court over luxury vehicles seized from his Airport Residential Area apartment.
The vehicles were seized during a coordinated enforcement action involving Ghanaian authorities and the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), following Abu Trica’s arrest in December 2025 in connection with an alleged romance scam investigation linked to losses affecting American victims. The seizure included multiple high-end vehicles, electronics and other assets from his Airport Residential Area residence.
Abu Trica’s legal team has emphasised that many of the seized items, especially the luxury cars, were on consignment and therefore not owned by him — a key distinction they argue undermines the basis for classification as proceeds or instrumentalities of crime. They further claim authorities failed to produce an itemised inventory at the time of seizure, violating legal procedures for asset forfeiture.
In a related lawsuit, Abu Trica has filed a GH₵10 million human rights suit against the Ghanaian Government, the FBI, the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), the Minister for the Interior and other officials, alleging unlawful detention, coercive interrogation, torture and violation of fundamental rights. He claims he was detained without access to counsel, forced to sign documents, denied food and water, and publicly branded a “notorious cyber-criminal” before any court determination of guilt.
Abu Trica’s extradition proceedings to the United States are ongoing, with U.S. authorities seeking his transfer in connection with alleged international fraud. His lawyers have also filed motions to exclude improperly obtained evidence, including the luxury vehicles, on constitutional grounds.
The High Court has scheduled further hearings to determine whether the seizures were lawful and whether the seized cars and other items can be lawfully used in future proceedings, in a case that has drawn national attention and debate over due process and foreign investigative jurisdiction in Ghana. 🇬🇭
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