Victor Emmanuel Smith, Ghana’s Ambassador to the United States of America, has revealed a phone call he received from Ken Ofori-Atta’s cousin, Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko.
According to Ghana’s Ambassador to US, Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko told him the former finance minister wants to return to Ghana but fears how he would be treated.
Speaking on TV3’s The KeyPoints on January 17, Ghana’s Ambassador to the US stated, “Gabby called me and said Ken wants to come, but he is afraid of how he will be treated”.
” So I told him I wanted to meet Ken and give him the assurance that he will be taken through the legal process, because the Attorney-General, Dr Ayine, gave me that assurance,” Ambassador Smith said.
Also, Kofi Bentil, on the TV3 KeyPoint, has said that Ofori-Atta is not afraid of charges against him, but rather how he’ll be treated.
He stated, “It is not about the charges he is afraid of, he is afraid of the treatment he will get…nobody is above the law, so Ken Ofori-Atta is not above the law. If, for some reason, he has to come and face whatever, Ambassador Smith says he thinks he will come and face it, but he is afraid of how he will be treated.
“I am saying that based on everything, his apprehension is that even though he is a sick man who has gone through all these surgeries and he is recuperating and whatever it is, he does not think that he will be treated well, like what Ambassador Smith is saying,” he stated.
He added, “My point is that if there is a way to try this man, go ahead and do it. We who are close to him think that what Ambassador Smith said is the truth. Ken would like to come, he is not above the law, not so we are not asking for special treatment, but what will it take for us to facilitate his coming so he will subject himself to these things”.
However, Dominic Akuritinga Ayine Speaking at the Government Accountability Series on Thursday, December 18, 2025, has said that under his watch, Ken Ofori-Atta will not be treated unfairly.
He stated, “I have, on behalf of the Government of His Excellency, John Dramani Mahama, taken the requisite steps to bring him to Ghana to face trial. And if I were him, this is his home; he should just join the next flight and come here.
“Under my watch, he will not be treated unfairly. You know, he will go through due process and be prosecuted, just like any other person, just like Kwabena Adu-Boahene, or Hanan (Abdul-Wahab Aludiba), or any of the persons that we have filed charges against,” he said.
Meanwhile, the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has described Ken Ofori-Atta as an illegal alien.
According to an ICE spokesperson, Ken Ofori-Atta is facing corruption and corruption-related charges in his home country.
ICE detailed that Ken Ofori-Atta entered the United States on May 28, 2025, on a visitor’s visa with an expiration date of November 27, 2025.
The ICE spokesperson responding to Tv3’s Joseph Ackah-Blay is quoted to have said, “Kenneth Nana Yaw Ofori-Atta is an illegal alien from Ghana who is facing corruption and corruption-related charges in his home country. He entered the United States on May 28, 2025, on a visitor’s visa with an expiration date of November 27, 2025. Ofori-Atta overstayed his permitted admission”.
“He has been issued a notice to appear and will remain in ICE custody. He will be given due process before a Justice Department immigration judge,” the spokesperson said.
“The Trump administration has been abundantly clear: aliens must respect our laws or face the consequences. Overstaying a visa is an immigration law violation that can result in deportation,” he added.