The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has detained Ghana’s former Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta.
Ken Ofori-Atta has been detained over his immigration status issues after he overstayed his visa.
On Wednesday, January 7, 2026, a public notice issued by Ghana-based law firm Minkah-Premo, Osei-Bonsu, Bruce-Cathline and Partners (MPOBB) revealed that Ofori-Atta’s detention is linked to questions surrounding his continued stay in the United States, rather than any criminal wrongdoing.
According to them, Ofori-Atta has a pending petition for adjustment of status, which, in US immigration law, allows an individual to remain in the country beyond the validity of their original visa while it is considered.
The public notice read, “The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), as of yesterday (6 January 2026), detained the former Minister for Finance, Mr Ken Ofori-Atta, regarding the status of his current stay in the United States. His US legal team is in contact with ICE and expects the matter to be resolved expeditiously,”
“Mr Ofori-Atta has a pending petition for adjustment of status, which authorises a person to stay in the US legally beyond the period of validity of their visa. Under US law, a change of status by this method is common.
“The public is, therefore, advised to note that he is a law-abiding person and is fully cooperating with ICE to have this issue resolved. His legal team is in contact with ICE and working to resolve the matter as expeditiously as possible,” the public notice further read.
The news comes at a time when Arise Ghana, a pressure group, has announced plans to demonstrate at the American Embassy in Accra to demand the repatriation of former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta.
The planned protest is part of a series of demonstrations by Arise Ghana calling for government officials to face scrutiny for their conduct.
Speaking at a press conference, Arise Ghana stated, “ I can assure all of you present here that Arise Ghana will soon be picketing an endless one to make sure that Ken Ofori-Atta is repatriated to Ghana to face the law for him to answer the questions that the Ghanian people are demanding.
Accountability is essential to restoring public trust and deterring future misconduct. Arise Ghana joins the call for the immediate arrest and extradition of Ken Ofori-Atta to Ghana to face justice.
Meanwhile, Enayat Qasimi, the International lawyer representing Ken Ofori-Atta, has said his client has never been given the rights guaranteed to him under Ghanaian law.
According to Enayat Qasimi, his client, Ken Ofori-Atta, is fully committed to the laws of Ghana and is fully committed to answering for anything he did as Ghana’s finance minister.
He, however, claimed the case against his client is politically motivated and not being given the rights that he’s guaranteed under Ghanaian law.
Speaking during an interview with the BBC shared on YouTube on December 24, 2025, Enayat Qasimi said, He’s committed to fully complying with the laws of Ghana, and he’s fully committed to answering for anything that he did when he was Finance Minister. There’s absolutely no question about that. The question is, is he being given the rights that he’s guaranteed under Ghanaian law? He’s not. He’s never been”.
Enayat Qasimi further stressed that the Ghanaian authorities already knew his client was in the US receiving treatment, and there was no need for the issuance of a red notice.
“Ofori-Atta was receiving treatment in the US. They knew this all along. There was no purpose for issuing the red notice, but they went ahead and issued it,” he said.
See the public notice below:
