Two separate courts handling Ken Ofori-Atta’s matter in the U.S.

Ghana's former Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, is facing corruption and corruption-related charges for his role in the SML corruption scandal.

Two separate courts in the United States are handling cases involving the wanted former Finance Minister of Ghana, Ken Ofori-Atta.

An immigration court is hearing the case involving Mr Ofori-Atta’s visa overstay, while a district court is handling his extradition proceedings.

Sources at Ghana’s Ministry of Justice and Attorney General have said that the distinction is necessary, especially following commentary that the authorities in America did not present Ghana’s extradition dockets to the court.

That court case, the Attorney General’s Department explained, relates to Mr Ofori-Atta’s visa case in which an immigration judge granted him bail from ICE detention in April this year.

Ken Ofori-Atta is facing corruption and corruption-related charges for his role in the SML corruption scandal.

Both men have been charged by the OSP with corruption and related offences for their roles in the shady revenue assurance deal with SML.

In December 2025, Ghana’s Attorney General submitted a formal request to the Justice Department of the United States for the extradition of Ken Ofori-Atta and Ernest Darko Akore to face charges in Ghana.

Both men have been charged by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) with corruption and related offences for their roles in the shady revenue assurance deal involving Strategic Mobilisation Limited (SML), the Ministry of Finance, and the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).

Background

Unlike Ken Ofori-Atta, whose legal status in the United States has expired, Ernest Akore has both American and Ghanaian citizenship. Ernest Akore worked closely with Ken Ofori-Atta as the Chef de Cabinet of the Minister of Finance and signed documents on Mr Ofori-Atta’s behalf.

Ernest Darko Akore, born in Accra, Ghana, on February 5, 1958, left Ghana on November 19, 2024, for New York on Delta Airlines Flight 156.

Mr Akore travelled on a 10-year U.S. passport, issued on August 5, 2021, and expiring on August 4, 2031. He also holds a Ghanaian passport, issued in Accra on January 3, 2020, and valid until January 2, 2030.

Ken Ofori-Atta, who was arrested in the United States by ICE agents on the morning of January 6, 2026, at the entrance to the Westlight apartment complex at 1111 24th Street NW, Washington, D.C.

Ken Ofori-Atta, born on November 7, 1959, left Ghana on January 4, 2025. He travelled on a Ghanaian passport. His five-year U.S. visa was issued on February 16, 2021, and expired on February 14, 2026.

 Mr Ofori-Atta also has valid visas to the United Kingdom and Canada. His UK Visa will expire on April 21, 2032, and his Canadian visa will expire on May 31, 2031.

According to official and unofficial sources, the two men have no intention of returning to Ghana to face the charges filed by the OSP in November 2025.