Ken Ofori-Atta
The Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyebeng, has informed a High Court in Accra that the United States Department of Justice has acknowledged receipt of extradition packet sent by Ghana, regarding former Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, who is wanted in Ghana for alleged corruption and related offences.
As a result, the charge sheet and the summons have been transmitted to the US, as the OSP takes steps to serve Ofori-Atta outside the jurisdiction and possibly try him in absentia if he fails to return to Ghana.
Mr. Agyebeng also informed the court yesterday that the US Department of Justice has sent notice through the Office of the Attorney General enquiring the OSP’s preference as to whether the charge sheet and the summons should be served on Mr. Ofori-Atta’s Chef de Cabinet, Ernest Darko Akore, before the institution of extradition proceedings against him in the United States.
He said the OSP has responded by advising the US Department of Justice to employ the most expeditious and judicious process in this regard, adding that as of yesterday, Mr. Akore had not been served with the summons.
“In the circumstances, the Republic of Ghana is abiding the outcome of these two proceedings in respect of A1 (Ofori-Atta) and the outcome of extradition proceedings in respect of A2 (Akore) before the state can advise the court as to their presence or not,” Mr. Agyebeng added.
Summons
The OSP secured an order of summons to be served on former Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta and his Chef de Cabinet, Ernest Darko Akore, outside the jurisdiction as the Office takes steps to prosecute the two in absentia if they fail to return to Ghana.
The two, together with six others, have been charged for allegedly causing financial loss of GH¢1,436,249,828.53 to the state through the revenue assurance contract awarded by the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) to the Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited (SML).
On January 29, 2026, Adelaide Kobiri-Woode, a Principal Prosecutor at the OSP told the court that the relevant documents pertaining to the summons obtained from the court, have been forwarded to the international desk of the Office of the Attorney General and presently being worked on for the said summons to be duly served on Mr. Ofori-Atta and Ernest Darko Akore through the authorised institutions in the United States.
She also told the court that extradition processes which were triggered by the OSP through the Attorney General are still ongoing, adding that “the Attorney General has since transmitted relevant documents to the United States.”
ICE Detention
Mr. Ofori-Atta is currently in the custody of United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) following his arrest for overstaying his visa.
Last month, a US Immigration judge ordered the federal government to provide proof of an extradition request made by Ghana against Ofori-Atta, who is facing the possibility of being deported for overstaying his US visitor visa.
The judge gave the order after US State Attorneys, as part of their opposition to an application for bail, informed the court that Mr. Ofori-Atta is a subject of an extradition request.
The former Finance Minister appeared before the court in Virginia on Tuesday, January 20, 2026 via a web access for allegedly remaining in the US following the expiration of his visa.
The hearing focused on an application for bail, with his lawyer urging the court to grant him bail pending the determination of his status in the US.
Reports suggest that his bail application was unsuccessful and he still remains in the custody of ICE, as the extradition processes proceed.
Charges
The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has charged Ken Ofori-Atta and two former Commissioners-General of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) as well as officials of Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited (SML), over the controversial revenue assurance contract awarded to the private company, costing the nation over GH¢1.4 billion in “financial loss.”
The other accused persons are Ernest Darko Akore, Chef de Cabinet of Ofori-Atta; Emmanuel Kofi Nti, Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah, all former Commissioners-General of GRA; Isaac Crentsil, Kwadwo Damoah, all former Commissioners of Customs Division of GRA; Evans Adusei, Chief Executive Officer of SML and the company itself.
Together, they are facing a total of 78 counts of offences, including causing financial loss to the state, corruption and related offences, using public office for profit and attempt to commit criminal offence of influencing the procurement process to obtain an unfair advantage in the award of procurement contract.
The OSP has so far filed two witness statements which have been served on the accused persons. The court has given the Office up to March 26 to file further discourse.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak