United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has taken into custody Ghana’s former minister of finance, Kenneth Ofori-Atta, according to a statement from his legal team.
The lawyers confirmed on Wednesday that Ofori-Atta was detained over issues relating to his immigration status in the United States, where he has reportedly remained for more than a year while receiving medical care.
“The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as of yesterday, detained the former Minister for Finance, Mr. Ken Ofori-Atta, regarding the status of his current stay in the United States,” the statement said.
“His US legal team is in contact with ICE and expects the matter to be resolved expeditiously.”
An entry on ICE’s online detainee locator shows that Ofori-Atta is currently being held at the Caroline detention facility.
The detention comes amid mounting legal troubles back home. In February 2025, Ghanaian authorities declared the former minister wanted after he failed to appear for questioning over corruption allegations. The government later filed formal charges against him and six others in November 2025.
By December 2025, Ghana officially requested the former minister’s extradition from the United States to face the allegations.
Ofori-Atta served as Ghana’s finance minister between 2017 and 2024 during the administration of former president Nana Akufo-Addo.
