ICE detains Ghana's former finance minister over immigration status issues, lawyers say

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained Ghana's former finance minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, over immigration status issues, according to his lawyers.

Ofori-Atta is facing dozens of charges in Ghana related to his time in office under the previous administration, including conspiracy to commit procurement fraud and causing financial loss to the state, the BBC reported. Ghana has previously requested his extradition, but his lawyers are challenging it, saying the allegations against him are politically motivated.

The former minister's legal team said that he left Ghana last year for medical reasons.

Ofori-Atta's lawyers confirmed his detention in the U.S. on Wednesday, saying they expected the matter to be resolved "expeditiously."

They said their client was "law-abiding" and in the process of applying to change his immigration status, allowing him to stay in the U.S. "past the period of validity of [his] visa."

Prosecutors in Ghana declared Ofori-Atta a fugitive last February, alleging that he was trying to evade investigators. After his lawyers said he intended to return, the fugitive status was withdrawn.

Ofori-Atta's lawyer, Enayat Qasimi, previously told the BBC that his client was "committed to fully complying with the laws of Ghana and... answering for anything he did when he was finance minister."

Ofori-Atta was Ghana's finance minister from January 2017 to February 2024, when the New Patriotic Party was in power. The party lost the December 2024 elections, after which John Mahama from the National Democratic Congress became president, promising to crack down on corruption.

ICE didn't immediately respond to the BBC's request for comment.