Ghana’s former finance minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, who is wanted in his home country over allegations of corruption, has been taken into custody by United States immigration authorities, according to his legal team.
Ofori-Atta, 66, has been in the United States since January last year, where he has been receiving medical care, including surgery for prostate cancer.
The former minister, who was declared a fugitive in February last year and formally charged with corruption in November, had applied for an extension of his stay in the US, his lawyers said in a statement issued late Wednesday.
According to the statement, officials of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement took Ofori-Atta into custody on Tuesday over “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,” the statement added, noting that Ofori-Atta was fully cooperating with immigration authorities.
Checks on ICE’s online detainee database showed that Ofori-Atta is being held at a facility in the US state of Virginia.
Ofori-Atta served as Ghana’s finance minister between 2017 and 2024 under former president Nana Akufo-Addo, a period during which he oversaw controversial tax reforms and led negotiations with the International Monetary Fund.
