Legal victory for Ofori-Atta tests US-Ghana diplomatic relations

United States has granted permanent residency to Ghana’s Ken Ofori-Atta, his lawyer said Tuesday, capping a saga that saw the fugitive ex-finance minister arrested by immigration authorities.

Ofori-Atta, 66, has been in the United States since January last year to receive medical treatment including prostate cancer surgery.

In January, however, he was arrested by US immigration authorities over “the status of his current stay”, his lawyers said at the time, rather than his legal woes back home.

Fugutive from Ghanaian justice

The former minister was declared a fugitive by Ghanaian authorities in February 2025 and formally charged with corruption in November.

He was arrested by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) while applying to extend his stay in the country.

“Ken Ofori-Atta’s Green card I-485 petition has been granted by US Immigration Court,” his attorney Justice Kusi-Minkah Premo said in a statement.

“The Court finds the criminal charges in Ghana not credible,” he said, though he added the decision “was focused on whether Mr Ofori-Atta met the legal requirements for adjustment of status”.

Ofori-Atta served as finance minister from 2017 to 2024 under former president Nana Akufo-Addo of the NPP, and oversaw contentious tax reforms and negotiations with the International Monetary Fund.

The Mahama method

Current NDC President John Mahama has pursued a crackdown on corruption, though critics say he has unfairly targeted political enemies.

Ghana’s attorney general has confirmed that high-level discussions are underway with US authorities regarding the potential extradition of the former finance minister, Ken Ofori-Atta.

Opposition chieftains in the NPP have also expressed concerns privately that if Ofori-Atta doesn’t return to face prosecution, it could be used as ammunition against the likely NPP presidential candidate Mahamudu Bawumia in the 2028 elections.

(With AFP)