Government claims conspiring with US authorities to skip extradition process to get Ken Ofori-Atta deported

AsaaseradioJan 19, 2026Read original

The Minister for government communication, Felix Kwakye Ofosu (MP), has pointed out that the Mahama Administration asked the government of the United States (US) to revoke the visa of former Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, in order to have Mr Ofori-Atta deported to Ghana, as the government suspected that the extradition process it had triggered could take too longer to materialize.

Speaking during a panel discussion on TV 3, Kwakye Ofosu noted that the move by the Mahama government made after the administration noticed that the extradition process initiated even though was the due process required by law, would be a rather long process that may keep Mr Ofori-Atta further away from coming to Ghana to answer for the charges leveled against him by the Office of the Special Prosecutor.

“Indeed, check the sequence of events, Ken Ofori-Atta’s visa was revoked upon the intervention of the Ghanaian government because it was noticed that the extradition process may take a bit of time. However, if the visa is revoked, even his stay in the United States is made untenable unless he is able to show at this hearing that he has cause to do so,” Felix Kwakye Ofosu remarked.

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the United States of America (USA) detained the former finance minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, on 6 January 2026. Lawyers for Ofori-Atta in Ghana, Minkah-Premo, Osei-Bonsu, Bruce-Cathline & Partners (MPOBB), made the announcement in a public notice.

The MPOBB public notice, issued on Wednesday (7 January 2026) and signed by Justice Kusi-Minkah Premo Esq, noted that the detention resulted from challenges regarding the status of Ofori-Atta’s continued stay in the United States.

“The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), as of (6 January 2026), detained the former Minister for Finance, Mr Ken Ofori-Atta, regarding the status of his current stay in the United States. His US legal team is in contact with ICE and expects the matter to be resolved expeditiously.

“Mr Ofori-Atta has a pending petition for adjustment of status, which authorises a person to stay in the US legally past the period of validity of their visa. Under US law, a change of status by this method is common,” the public notice issued by MPOBB says.

“The public is, therefore, advised to note that he is a law-abiding person and is fully cooperating with ICE to have this issue resolved. His legal team is in contact with ICE and working to resolve the matter as expeditiously as possible,” the notice from Ofori-Atta’s lawyers further says.

According to the official website of the Department of Homeland Security, Mr Ofori-Atta is in ICE custody at the Caroline Detention Facility located at 11093 SW Lewis Memorial Drive, Bowling Green, VA 22427.

Ken Ofori-Atta has been in the United States since January 2025 for medical treatment. He had surgery in the US following a diagnosis of prostate cancer.

The procedure, a radical prostatectomy, took place on 13 June 2025 at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Medical sources described the surgery as a crucial step after recent tests revealed signs of the cancer’s progression.

Doctors reportedly confirmed the diagnosis in March 2025 after MRI scans and a biopsy detected an increased spread of cancer cells in the prostate.

Ofori-Atta had been receiving treatment and undergoing monitoring in the US for several weeks ahead of the operation, sources close to the family said.

He had also been managing post-COVID multi-system inflammatory response syndrome, initially diagnosed in February 2021 — a condition that has required ongoing medical oversight.

Mr Ofori-Atta served as Ghana’s finance minister from 2017 to 2023, playing a key role in the country’s economic management during a turbulent period that included the COVID-19 pandemic and negotiations with the International Monetary Fund.

In November 2025, the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) charged him and others with corruption and corruption-related offences. The trial is at the case management conference (CMC) stage.