Ex-Finance Minister Ofori-Atta Seeks US Residency (Fights Extradition Amid Corruption Charges)
Ken Ofori-Atta, Ghana’s former finance minister, is trying to get permanent residency in the United States while fighting immigration proceedings and extradition requests from Ghana over several corruption charges. After being arrested in January for staying too long on his visa, which had been revoked because he didn’t leave the US by a previous deadline, he is now being held at an ICE detention center in Virginia. His lawyer says he is trying to get residency instead of going back to Ghana because he is worried about the fairness of a possible trial and claims political persecution. US authorities have confirmed that they received Ghana’s request for extradition. Mr. Ofori-Atta is set to appear in front of the Annandale Immigration Court again on April 27 after previous hearings that were closed to the public. In Ghana, he and five others face more than 70 charges, including ones related to the Strategic Mobilisation Limited contract that is said to have cost the state a lot of money.
