Uncovering a Scandalous Political Scheme in Ghana

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The chapter follows the speaker's journey from discovering a WhatsApp forward about a scandal involving a politician gaining control of vast sums of money to delving into Ghanaian history and uncovering a complex web of deceit and corruption. It explores the challenges of researching a historical era tainted by deliberate erasure and rewriting of history, highlighting the impact of a con artist's elaborate scams on individuals and the nation's collective memory.

Yepoka Yeebo has written for The Guardian, Bloomberg Businessweek, and Quartz. Her new book is Anansi’s Gold: The Man Who Looted the West, Outfoxed Washington, and Swindled the World.

“Initially it was like, Why are you writing about a con man? He makes Ghana look bad. Nobody needs another crime story about an African person. I found that irritating, because isn't the whole point of being a complete person, complete people, is we contain multitudes? We too can be epic, world-leading con men! Also, it's a great story. Everybody should revel in the insanity of what happened.”

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