The Minister for Justice and Attorney General, Dr Dominic Ayine, has announced that Ghana has formally initiated extradition proceedings against former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta and an alleged accomplice, Ernest Akore, currently believed to be in the United States.
Dr Ayine made the disclosure on Thursday, December 18, 2025, while speaking at the government’s Accountability Series, where he outlined steps taken by his office in connection with ongoing investigations into alleged financial loss to the state involving Strategic Mobilisation Limited (SML).
According to the Attorney General, the process was triggered by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), which on November 19, 2025, submitted a formal request for the commencement of extradition proceedings against the two individuals. The request followed investigations into Mr Ofori-Atta’s alleged role in causing financial loss to the state.
Dr Ayine explained that a preliminary review of the request by the International Cooperation Unit of the Attorney General’s Department revealed gaps in the documentation that needed to be addressed to satisfy applicable legal and procedural requirements.
“As a result, we communicated our observations to the Office of the Special Prosecutor in a letter dated November 25 and requested additional documentation to ensure completeness,” he said.
He noted that the OSP responded on December 9, 2025, submitting supplementary documents and addressing all concerns raised, which effectively completed the extradition request package.
Following this, Dr Ayine said his office transmitted the finalized extradition request to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on December 10, 2025, for onward submission to the relevant authorities in the United States, particularly the U.S. Department of Justice.
However, the Attorney General stressed that the next phase of the process lies entirely within the jurisdiction of U.S. authorities.
“At this point, it is left to the authorities of the United States, particularly the judicial authorities, to determine whether there is sufficient basis for the two accused persons to be extradited to Ghana to stand trial,” Dr Ayine added.
