Ken Ofori-Atta Seeks US Residency as Ghana Pursues Extradition Over Corruption Allegations
Credit: myjoyonline
A lawyer representing Ghana’s former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta has said his client is pursuing permanent US residency rather than returning to his home country, where he fears he would not be tried fairly on corruption charges.
Mr Ofori-Atta is being held in an ICE detention facility in Virginia after his arrest by US immigration officials in January for overstaying on a visa.
Enayat Qasimi told Semafor his client has a “pathway to residency” that he would pursue.
He claimed there were “serious questions” about the independence of the Ghanaian judiciary and said that Mr Ofori-Atta had been subjected to a “political witch hunt” that meant he was unlikely to receive a fair trial over alleged financial impropriety while in office, from 2017 to 2024.
The office of Ghana’s attorney general declined to comment.
Ghana has issued an extradition request for Ofori-Atta’s return, which US officials told Semafor had been received.
The pursuit of Ofori-Atta over alleged financial impropriety has become emblematic of the vow by President John Dramani Mahama, who came last year, to tackle corruption.
