Ken Ofori-Atta’s passport seized after securing bail

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Ken Ofori-Atta’s passport seized after securing bail

Ghana’s embattled former Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta’s passport has been seized by US Authorities after securing bail.

This follows an earlier report of Ken Ofori-Atta being released by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Ken Ofori-Atta was being held at the Caroline Detention Facility regarding issues related to his immigration status.

Reports by Citinews suggest that checks from the Caroline Detention Facility, an ICE-operated centre, confirmed that his name no longer appears on the detention list.

Also, officials at the facility did not provide further details but verified that the former minister has been released.

The search result on the ICE website read, “Your search has returned zero (0) matching records. Please re-check the search terms you entered to ensure they are correct and try your query again. Please remember that the system does not provide information for detainees under the age of 18. If you conducted a name-based search, only exact matches will be returned. You may want to try any name or spelling variants used by the detainee. If you are unable to find the detainee using the Online Detainee Locator System, please contact your local field office. For more information on the Missing Migrant Program, please visit [link].”

Ken Ofori-Atta had been in ICE custody since January 2026.

The embattled former finance minister is now expected to reappear in court on April 27 for deportation proceedings.

In a news post shared by JOY FM on X, it stated, “Ken Ofori-Atta’s passport seized after securing bail; to reappear in court on April 27 for deportation proceedings”.

 Also, in related news, Justice Kusi-Minkah Premo of Minkah-Premo, Osei-Bonsu, Bruce-Cathline, and Ken Ofori-Atta’s lawyers in Ghana, in a news release on April 8, 2026, have confirmed his release.

The statement read, “On April 7, 2026, Ken Ofori-Atta was released from ICE detention pursuant to a judicial order. He is home with his family.

“Mr Ofori-Atta remains fully committed to due process in the defence of his rights as guaranteed under the Constitution and laws of the United States,” the statement said.

Back home, the embattled Ken Ofori-Atta remains at the centre of multiple legal challenges.

Ken Ofori-Atta and five others are facing more than 70 criminal charges linked to ongoing corruption investigations.

In related news, “Enayat Qasimi, a US-based lawyer representing Ghana’s former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta, has disclosed that his client has a pathway to US residency.

According to Ken Ofori-Atta’s US-based lawyer, his client will pursue permanent US residency rather than returning to his home country.

Reports by JOYNEWs revealed Enayat Qasimi told Semafor his client has a “pathway to residency” that he would pursue.

“He claimed there were “serious questions” about the independence of the Ghanaian judiciary and said that Mr Ofori-Atta had been subjected to a “political witch hunt” that meant he was unlikely to receive a fair trial over alleged financial impropriety while in office, from 2017 to 2024”, JoyNews is quoted to have said.

Also, Frank Davies, a member of the Legal Team of former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta, has disclosed that his client’s decision to seek permanent residence in the U.S. is personal.

According to Frank Davies, Ken Ofori-Atta’s decision to seek permanent residence in the U.S has nothing to do with his legal matter but personal.

Frank Davis is quoted by TV3 as saying, “Ken Ofori-Atta’s decision to seek permanent residence in the U.S. is a personal and not a legal matter”.

Meanwhile, President John Dramani Mahama has said he cannot comment on the ongoing proceedings to extradite former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta.

According to John Mahama, Ken Ofori-Atta’s extradition process is out of his jurisdiction and within the jurisdiction of the United States.

He asserted that it would be inappropriate for him to make pronouncements on a case.

Speaking during a Presidential Dialogue with Civil Society Organisations at Jubilee House in Accra on Monday, March 30, Mahama stated, “I cannot comment on the extradition of our former Finance Minister because it is in a different jurisdiction… we just have to be patient for the law to play out in that jurisdiction. It is not within our jurisdiction, but the American judiciary…”

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