Ken Ofori-Atta
Former Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, has secured a permanent United States residency following the decision of a US Immigration Court to grant him a ‘Green Card,’ his lawyers confirmed yesterday.
A statement issued by lawyers representing him in Ghana and signed by Justice Kusi-Minkah Premo said the US court heard evidence relating to actions taken by Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), “including the OSP’s earlier decision to declare Mr. Ofori-Atta a fugitive from justice at a time when he was reportedly undergoing medical treatment in the United States and while his lawyers remained in communication with investigators in Ghana.”
The statement added that the US found the criminal charges in Ghana not credible. It however, pointed out that the court’s ruling was made within the context of a United States immigration proceedings, with focus on whether Mr. Ofori-Atta met the legal requirements for adjustment of status.
Multiple Accusations
Mr. Ofori-Atta is facing multiple allegations of corruption and related offences in Ghana for some decisions he took during his tenure as Minister of Finance under the Nana Akufo-Addo led New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration.
The OSP has charged him and seven others over the revenue assurance contract awarded to Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited (SML), allegedly costing the nation over GH¢1.4 billion “financial loss.”
The decision to grant him a permanent US residence strikes a big blow to efforts by the Office of the Special Prosecutor to extradite him to Ghana to stand trial.
Mr. Ofori-Atta travelled to the United States last year and became a centre of attention in Ghana and abroad following a decision by the OSP to declare him a wanted fugitive and later placing him on the Interpol Red Notice for allegedly refusing to return to Ghana to face the allegations made against him.
His lawyers in the US had been pursuing the possibility of securing a permanent residency for him after indicating that it became clear to them that their client may not be treated fairly if he returns to Ghana.
The former Finance Minister earlier spent some days in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention in Virginia, where he was held for overstaying his US visa.
He was later released from detention on April 27, 2026, “pursuant to judicial order,” his lawyers disclosed, indicating that he was home with his family.
They added that Mr. Ofori-Atta remains “fully committed to use due process” in defence of his rights as guaranteed under the constitution and laws of the United States.
OSP Determined
Despite the grant of permanent residency to Mr. Ofori-Atta, the OSP has declared its intention to pursue the extradition of the former minister to Ghana to stand trial for the crimes he is accused of.
The OSP, in a social media post, clarified that it is not involved in immigration hearings in the United States involving Mr. Ofori-Atta but rather in respect of extradition proceedings against the former minister through the Attorney General as the central authority.
“The OSP states that the extradition packet is not before the immigration court; and the credibility or otherwise of the criminal charges against Mr. Ofori-Atta would be determined by the courts in Ghana, who have jurisdiction to determine his guilt or innocence,” the OSP noted.
It added that Mr. Ofori-Atta still remains a citizen of Ghana and he is still amenable to be extradited to Ghana if so decided by the extradition court in the United States.
Trial In Absentia
Meanwhile, the Vice Chairperson of Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Davis Ansah Opoku, has indicated that a change in immigration status does not shield an individual from prosecution in Ghana, suggesting that Mr. Ofori-Atta can be tried in absentia in the face of the latest development.
“Even a foreigner, somebody who is not even of a Ghanaian descent, when he commits a crime in our land, the person is punishable by Ghanaian laws. And so the fact that somebody has gone for American citizenship or has gone for a green card doesn’t mean that we cannot punish the person,” he said on the sidelines of the 2026 Governance and Anti-Corruption Summit.
“So, the bit about waiting for Ken Ofori-Atta to come before he is prosecuted, I find it a bit problematic because we can try him in absentia. Even in his absence, something can be done,” the Mpraeso Member of Parliament added.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak