Ofori-Atta Still Faces Extradition Despite US Residency, Says Special Prosecutor
The Office of the Special Prosecutor has pushed back against the narrative that former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta’s newly granted permanent residency in the United States effectively places him beyond the reach of Ghanaian justice, stressing that extradition proceedings remain firmly in place.
In a statement issued on June 16, the OSP said it had taken note of media reports and a publication attributed to a Ghanaian law firm claiming that a US immigration court had approved Mr Ofori-Atta’s green-card application. The anti-graft body was quick to draw a sharp line between the two legal processes.
“The OSP clarified that it is not involved in any immigration proceedings concerning Mr Ofori-Atta in the United States,” the statement read. The office made clear that the extradition case operates under a completely separate legal framework—one governed by international treaty obligations and bilateral agreements, not by US immigration law.
The distinction matters. An immigration court’s assessment of whether a foreign national meets the criteria for permanent residency is a fundamentally different exercise from an extradition court’s evaluation of whether a person should be surrendered to face criminal charges abroad. The former deals with eligibility to live in the United States; the latter deals with the obligations between sovereign states to cooperate on criminal matters.
The OSP also reaffirmed that the credibility of the criminal charges against the former minister would be determined by Ghanaian courts, which have the jurisdiction to decide guilt or innocence. The charges at issue span several high-profile matters: the Strategic Mobilisation-GRA contract, the termination of the ECG-BXC contract, payments related to the National Cathedral project, an ambulance procurement deal, and the utilisation of the Tax Refund Account.
Former Deputy Attorney General Alfred Tuah-Yeboah has previously made a similar point, arguing that nothing in law prevents the OSP from continuing to pursue its case against Mr Ofori-Atta regardless of his immigration status in the United States.
The health of the former minister has also emerged as a complicating factor. Legal practitioners have noted that Mr Ofori-Atta’s medical condition could influence any future US extradition decision, with courts sometimes weighing humanitarian considerations alongside the strength of the foreign charges.
Mr Ofori-Atta remains a Ghanaian citizen, a fact the OSP highlighted as legally significant. Citizenship does not automatically result in extradition, but it removes one potential obstacle—the argument that a state cannot demand the return of someone who is not its national.
The next move belongs to the US Department of Justice, which serves as the central authority for processing extradition requests. Whether the procedural machinery is already in motion, or whether it has yet to begin in earnest, remains an open question. What is clear is that the OSP has no intention of closing its file on the former minister, green card or not.
Image Source: GHANAIAN TIMES
