January 9, 2026
Ken Ofori-Atta, Former Finance Minister Of Ghana, Detained By U.S. Immigration For Overstaying Visa
As speculation circulated that Ofori-Atta’s arrest was connected to the extradition request, Ghanaian activist and lawyer Osagyefo Oliver Barker-Vormawor said that wasn't the case.
Former Finance Minister of Ghana, Ken Ofori-Atta, has been detained by U.S. Immigration officials over an accusation of overstaying his visa, the BBC reports.
Ofori-Atta’s legal team says their client left the African nation in 2025 due to medical reasons, and that Ghana has pushed for his extradition. The former leader’s lawyers claim the request correlates to the number of allegations against him. In February 2025, Ghana prosecutors labeled Ofori-Atta a fugitive, claiming he was attempting to dodge investigators.
The leader faces an abundance of charges, including conspiracy to commit procurement fraud and causing financial loss to the state—all tied to his time in office, January 2017 to February 2024, when his New Patriotic Party was in control. Ofori-Atta’s lawyers released a statement calling their client “law-abiding” and that he was in the process of applying to change his immigration status so that he could to stay in the United States “past the period of validity of [his] visa.”
As speculation circulated that Ofori-Atta’s arrest was connected to the extradition request, Ghanaian activist and lawyer Osagyefo Oliver Barker-Vormawor said via X that wasn’t the case.
“Ken Ofori-Atta was not arrested over our extradition request. He was arrested for overstaying his visa,” he wrote. “He is liable to be deported. Not extradited.”
He expressed what would have happened if the former leader is shipped to Ghana. “If Ofori-Atta had come…he would have been given bail there and there; no matter the amount of Ghana money he would be accused of stealing,” Barker-Vormawor continued. “Bail refusal in Ghana is only for poor people charged with low-level misdemeanor offenses. Now see?”
In December, John Mahama from the National Democratic Congress was elected president and pledged to crack down on corruption. Ofori-Atta’s attorney, 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.”
The news comes less than a week after the United States thrust itself into Venezuela’s national affairs. While Ghana and the U.S. have decent ties, the African nation condemned the “invasion” that resulted in the capture of President Nicolás Maduro, describing it as an “abduction.”
RELATED CONTENT: Ghana’s Move To Pivot From ‘Detty December’ To Heritage Tourism