Ghana’s former finance minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, who is wanted at home on suspicion of corruption, has been detained by United States immigration authorities, according to his lawyers.
Ofori-Atta, 66, has been in the United States since January last year to receive medical treatment, including surgery for prostate cancer. His legal team said he had applied to extend his stay in the country.
In a statement released on Wednesday, his lawyers disclosed that officers of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement took Ofori-Atta into custody on Tuesday over “the status of his current stay in the United States.”
The former minister was declared a fugitive by Ghanaian authorities in February last year and was formally charged with corruption in November.
His lawyers, however, said his US legal team was in contact with ICE and expected the matter to be resolved quickly, adding that Ofori-Atta was fully cooperating with immigration authorities.
ICE’s online detainee database listed him as being held at a facility in the US state of Virginia.
Ofori-Atta served as Ghana’s finance minister from 2017 to 2024 under former President Nana Akufo-Addo, a period marked by controversial tax reforms and negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) aimed at stabilising the country’s economy.