Ghana’s ex-finance minister held by US immigration amid corruption case back home

United States immigration authorities have detained Ghana’s former finance minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, who is facing corruption charges in his home country, according to his lawyers.

Ofori-Atta, 66, has been in the US since January last year for medical care, including prostate cancer surgery. His legal team said he had applied to extend his stay when officials of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) took him into custody on Tuesday.

In a statement released on Wednesday, the lawyers explained that the detention was connected to “the status of his current stay in the United States”, stressing that he was cooperating fully with immigration authorities.

“His US legal team is engaging with ICE and expects a swift resolution of the matter,” the statement said.

ICE’s online records indicate that Ofori-Atta is being held at a detention facility in the state of Virginia.

The former minister was declared a fugitive by Ghanaian authorities in February last year and was formally charged with corruption in November. He served as Ghana’s finance minister from 2017 to 2024 under former president Nana Akufo-Addo, a tenure marked by controversial tax measures and negotiations with the International Monetary Fund as the country battled a severe economic downturn.