According to his attorneys, US immigration has detained Ghana’s former finance minister, who is wanted domestically on allegations of corruption.
Since January of last year, 66-year-old Ken Ofori-Atta has been in the US for medical care, including surgery for prostate cancer.
The former minister, who was officially charged with corruption in November and proclaimed a fugitive in February of last year, has requested an extension of his stay in the United States, his attorneys announced late yesterday.
According to them, Ofori-Atta was detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Tuesday due to “the status of his current stay in the United States.”
Stressing that Ofori-Atta was fully complying with immigration officials, the statement further stated that “his US legal team is in contact with ICE and expects the matter to be resolved expeditiously.”
Ofori-Atta was detained at a facility in the US state of Virginia, according to ICE’s online database.
Under former President Nana Akufo-Addo, Ofori-Atta supervised controversial tax measures and negotiations with the International Monetary Fund during her tenure as finance minister from 2017 to 2024.
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