Ghanaian singer Shatta Wale has been taken into custody in Accra as part of an investigation opened in the United States into suspicions of acquiring a luxury car with fraudulent money, Ghanaian prosecutors said Thursday.

Shatta Wale, 40, born Charles Nii Armah Mensah, self-proclaimed "king of dancehall" in one of his hits, a genre of music similar to reggae, was arrested on Wednesday in connection with an investigation into a 2019 Lamborghini Urus that US authorities suspect was acquired with fraudulent money, the Organized Crime Bureau (EOCO) said in a statement Thursday.

His bail application was granted on Wednesday evening, but he failed to pay the bail amount of 10 million cedis (about 780,000 euros) and remains in the EOCO premises.

Hundreds of fans gathered outside the same premises on Thursday to demand his release.

The investigation is part of broader probes into possible accomplices linked to a Ghanaian, Nana Kwabena Amuah, who is serving a prison sentence in the United States, EOCO said.

The agency said the vehicle, seized in Ghana in May, was subject to an August 15 order from a Kentucky court authorizing the U.S. government to take possession of the car in Ghana as restitution.

EOCO also said Shatta Wale failed to produce the vehicle's purchase documents and told investigators he bought it for $150,000 (€129,000) "on the street," likely through a WhatsApp contact named "Zak," whose identity he could not provide and whose number he said he had deleted.

The agency said it acted at the request of the FBI and the U.S. Department of Justice to locate the vehicle and continue the investigation locally.

Outside the gates of EOCO, supporters of the "Shatta Movement" chanted slogans and held up images of the star while singing his songs.

"Until our king is freed, we will not move, even if we have to sleep here," one fan told AFP.

Shatta Wale's lawyers have previously insisted he bought the car in good faith and denied any knowledge of any links to criminal activities.

EOCO said bail checks would be carried out before any release.