Due to ongoing legal issues in his native Ghana, where he is accused of corruption, former Ghanaian Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta has been detained by U.S. immigration authorities.
According to documents from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Ofori-Atta, 66, who was Ghana’s finance minister from 2017 to 2024, is being detained at an immigration facility in Virginia.
Ofori-Atta was detained on Tuesday due to concerns about the “status of his current stay in the United States,” according to a statement issued by his legal team on Wednesday. The statement also stated that Ofori-Atta had applied to extend his visa after receiving medical treatment, including surgery for prostate cancer.
The attorneys stated that Ofori-Atta was completely cooperating with authorities and that “his US legal team is in contact with ICE and expects the matter to be resolved expeditiously.”
In February 2025, Ghanaian authorities proclaimed the former minister a fugitive, and in November of the same year, formal charges of corruption were brought against him. Since January 2025, he has not gone back to Ghana.
The accusations are related to his time under former President Nana Akufo-Addo, when he oversaw crucial talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and spearheaded contentious tax measures.
When Ofori-Atta might be freed and if he intends to go back to Ghana to stand trial were not disclosed by the legal team.
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