The Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Dr. Dominic Akuritinga Ayine, has announced that Ghana has formally submitted a request to the United States authorities for the extradition of former Finance Minister Ken Ofori Atta and his former TechnicalAdvisor , Ernest Darko Akore, to face 78 corruption related charges.
The announcement was made at the latest edition of the Government Accountability Series in Accra.
Dr Ayine explained that the extradition request followed investigations conducted by the Office of the Special Prosecutor, which led to charges being filed against the former minister and others at the High Court.
He outlined that his office received a formal request from the Special Prosecutor on November 19, 2025, to begin extradition proceedings for the two accused persons, who are believed to be in the United States.
After reviewing the request, the Attorney General’s office asked for additional documentation to meet legal and procedural requirements.
According to him, the Special Prosecutor provided the requested documents on December 9, 2025, after which his office completed the extradition package and transmitted it on December 10, 2025, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the United States Department of Justice.
Dr Ayine noted that the decision on whether Ken Ofori Atta and Ernest Darko Akore would be extradited now rested with the American judicial authorities.
He explained that extradition was a court driven process and could involve prolonged legal battles, as the individuals involved were entitled to challenge the request at various levels of the US court system.
He stressed that his office could not comment on the details of the charges because the matter was already before the courts.
However, he pointed out that the charge sheet, which was publicly available, contained 78 counts, including allegations of causing financial loss to the state and using public office for private benefit.
The Attorney General assured the public that the government of President John Dramani Mahama had taken all the legally required steps to ensure accountability and bring the accused persons back to Ghana to face trial.
He used the occasion to reaffirm the administration’s broader anti corruption drive under Operation Recover All Loot, which he described as a firm pledge by the President to confront corruption directly.
Dr Ayine also briefed the media on a major success chalked by the Economic and Organized Crime Office, which recovered more than 15 million United States dollars from an international online investment fraud scheme involving cryptocurrency.
He explained that the criminal network targeted Ghanaian and British victims through fake online investment platforms and laundered the proceeds through virtual currencies in an attempt to hide the funds from law enforcement.
Through court orders and cooperation with international partners, EOCO was able to trace, freeze and convert the digital assets into cash, with part of the recovered money expected to be used to compensate victims and the remainder paid into the public purse.
The Attorney General disclosed that EOCO had exceeded its 2025 recovery target of 200 million dollars, with total recoveries now standing at over 337 million dollars, the highest in the agency’s history.
He attributed the achievement to strong institutional leadership, international cooperation and the support of the President, adding that the results showed that state institutions could deliver when given the right backing.
The Attorney General assured Ghanaians that his office would continue to account to the public while allowing the courts to determine the outcome of all ongoing cases under the law.
By: Jacob Aggrey
