Dr Dominic Akuritinga Ayine, the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, has revealed that former Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, was given up to November 29 to leave the United States after his visa was revoked.
According to the Attorney General, Ken Ofori-Atta’s detention by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was part of ongoing extradition processes.
Speaking on JoyNews Newsfile on Saturday, January 10, 2026, Dr Ayine stated, “I didn’t make this public, but I started investigating Ofori-Atta. In fact, in his case, I’m doing it with some foreign investigators who are tracking all the offshore dealings and so on. We are also doing our own investigations here. They are inconclusive, as we speak. I mean, we have not come to any conclusion”.
“So, I started working with the Americans in respect of Ofori-Atta long before OSP came up with the announcement. I started working with them, and I want Ghanaians to know that he just didn’t overstay his visa,” he clarified.
The AG explained, “The visa was actually revoked. So, it’s not that Ofori-Atta overstayed. So, in July, the American State Department revoked his visa, and they gave him up to November 29 to leave the United States. He did not. And then, that is how come that they decided they were going to now pursue him, and arrest him. Actually, the arrest was supposed to occur on January 4th [2026], and they did not do so, but on Tuesday, January 6, 2026, they apprehended him in the Virginia area and took him into custody”.
“It’s not exactly about immigration. It was revoked. The visa was revoked. I am telling you this on authority,” he stated.
Additionally, Dr Dominic Akuritinga Ayine announced that embattled former Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, will appear before an immigration judge on January 20, 2025.
Dr Ayine detailed, “In this current matter, he will appear before an immigration judge on January 20th [2026]. He has a right to appeal that decision to a district court. From the district court, it can go to a circuit court of appeals.
Then from there to the United States Supreme Court. That is potentially the legal pathway to the determination as to whether or not he should be taken from America. If he doesn’t self-deport, this is what is going to happen.
“In the extradition case, again, a district court will hear the proceedings and make a determination as to whether to extradite him. If he’s not happy about that, he can go to a circuit court of appeal and to the United States of America,” he explained.