Sedina Christine Tamakloe-Attionu
Former Chief Executive Officer of Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC), Sedina Christine Tamakloe-Attionu, is set face an immigration judge in the United States (US) on January 21, 2026, as part of ongoing processes to extradite her to Ghana to serve her 10-year jail term.
Madam Tamakloe-Attionu, who has been declared a fugitive by a High Court in 2021, has been hiding in the United States since then.
She was arrested and detained by US Marshals on January 6, 2026, and is being held at the Nevada Southern Detention Center pending legal proceedings to have her extradited to Ghana.
Ghana’s Ambassador to the US, Victor Smith, who confirmed the arrest and detention based on extradition processes initiated by the erstwhile New Patriotic Party (NPP) government, has also confirmed that Madam Tamakloe-Attionu would be put before a US court for the first time on January 21.
“I’ve been informed she’s due in court on 21st. she will be before an immigration judge to make a determination whether you have a case against the arrest and if your lawyers can make a sufficient representation for the case to drag on… I’m not in a position to determine that one, you need to be put before a judge who will make a determination of how they progress,” he said in an interview with TV3.
Meanwhile, he has revealed that the embassy has not been able to make contact with Madam Tamakloe-Attionu, therefore, he could not tell if she needed any form of help.
“…Once we make contact with her, we will find out whether she needs any kind of assistance or support of any kind. We need to get to speak to her first,” Mr. Smith added.
Conviction
A High Court in Accra, in April 2024, convicted and sentenced Madam Tamakloe-Attionu to 10 years’ imprisonment in hard labour for causing financial loss of over GH¢93 million to the state.
The convict has been hiding in the United States since 2021, after she refused to return to the country to face trial when she was granted leave by the court to travel for a medical check-up.
A High Court, presided over by Justice Afia Serwah Asare-Botwe, a Justice of the Court of Appeal sitting as an additional High Court judge, in April 2024, convicted and sentenced Madam Tamakloe-Attionu to 10 years’ imprisonment after finding her guilty of causing financial loss to the state.
An interdicted Operations Manager of MASLOC, Daniel Axim, was also sentenced to five (5) years’ imprisonment for the same offence, for his role in the looting of state funds.
The two were found guilty and convicted of all the 78 charges levelled against them by the Office of the Attorney General in 2019 for various criminal acts that led to the state losing a whopping GH¢93,044,134.66.
Jail Terms
Madam Tamakloe-Attionu was sentenced to a total of 21 years’ imprisonment in hard labour for stealing (10 years), causing financial loss to the state (3 years), causing loss to public property (2 years), improper payment (6 months), unauthorised commitment resulting in a financial obligation for the government (6 months), money laundering (3 years) and contravention of the Public Procurement Act (2 years).
She was also fined a total of GH¢78,000 for the offences and, in default, she will serve another six years in jail.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak