Ghana’s Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Dr Dominic Ayine, has disclosed that former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta’s stay in the United States ended not because of an expired visa, but due to a formal revocation by US authorities linked to ongoing investigations.
Speaking on Citi’s Newsfile on Saturday, January 10, Dr Ayine rejected suggestions that Ofori-Atta merely overstayed his visa, describing the situation as a deliberate enforcement action rather than a routine immigration issue.
According to him, US authorities had earlier directed Ofori-Atta to leave the country by November 29, 2024, a directive he failed to comply with.
“This is not exactly about immigration. His visa is not expired. It expires in February. No, it was revoked. I am telling you this on authority,” Dr Ayine stated.
He revealed that American authorities had initially planned to arrest Ofori-Atta on January 4, 2026, but the operation did not occur as scheduled. The former finance minister was eventually apprehended on January 6 in the Virginia area and taken into custody.
Dr Ayine further indicated that Ghana’s extradition request is directly tied to investigations involving the Office of the Special Prosecutor’s SML matter, stressing that the visa revocation resulted in Ofori-Atta losing his lawful immigration status in the US.
“I have been working with the Americans diligently on him. And the visa was revoked. And that is how come that he lost his immigration status in the United States,” he said.
Meanwhile, Ofori-Atta’s lawyer, Frank Davies, has offered a different perspective, saying the legal team is actively engaging US authorities to resolve the matter. On January 8, Davies disclosed that Ofori-Atta had filed a petition seeking an extension of his immigration status before his arrest.
Despite the pending petition, Ofori-Atta was picked up by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and is currently being held at the Caroline Detention Facility.
“The little I know from our counterpart lawyers in the US, limited as it is, is that he’s put in a petition for an extension of his immigration status, and contingent upon that, ICE, for whatever reason, picked him up,” Davies explained.
He added that the specific grounds for the detention remain unclear, but assured the public that efforts are underway to secure a swift resolution.
