Ghana’s former finance minister detained by U.S. immigration officials

Ghana’s former finance minister Ken Ofori-Atta, who is wanted domestically on corruption charges, has been detained in the United States over issues related to his immigration status, his lawyer said.

Ghana has previously sought Ofori-Atta’s extradition, but his lawyers have challenged that, saying the charges against him are politically motivated.

Ofori-Atta’s legal team said he left Ghana last year for health reasons.

On Wednesday, they confirmed his detention in the United States and said they hoped the matter would be resolved “quickly.”

Ofori-Atta’s attorneys said in a statement that their client was “law-abiding” and was applying to change his immigration status so he could remain in the United States “beyond the expiration of his visa.”

The BBC has contacted ICE for comment.

Ofori-Atta faces dozens of charges related to his time in the previous government, including conspiracy to commit procurement fraud and causing financial harm to the country.

In February last year, Ghanaian prosecutors declared the former minister a fugitive, accusing him of trying to evade investigations. That status was revoked when his legal team said he did intend to return.

His lawyer Enayat Qasimi previously told the BBC that Ofori-Atta was “committed to fully complying with Ghanaian law and… taking responsibility for everything he did as finance minister”.

From January 2017 to February 2024, when the New Patriotic Party was in power, he served as Minister of Finance.

It lost the December 2024 elections, after which John Mahama of the National Democratic Congress took office promising to fight corruption.

Ghana has good relations with the United States and the two countries have cooperated on the repatriation of West African nationals, although it did condemn U.S. actions in Venezuela, calling it an “invasion.” described the arrest of its leader Nicolas Maduro as a “kidnapping”.

Additional reporting by Daniel Dazzi