Former Chief Executive Officer of the Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC), Sedina Tamakloe Attionu, has returned to Ghana following her extradition from the United States to serve a 10-year prison sentence imposed by the Accra High Court in 2024.
The US Embassy in a post on its official social media handles confirmed the extradition, describing it as a demonstration of the strong law enforcement partnership between the two countries.
“Justice has no borders. The United States has extradited Sedina Tamakloe Attionu to Ghana, following her conviction on 70+ corruption-related charges, including embezzling more than $6M equivalent in Ghanaian taxpayer funds. This is our strong U.S.-Ghana law enforcement partnership in action demonstrating a shared commitment to accountability, and the first extradition from the United States to Ghana since 2009,” it said.
Attionu is said to have arrived at the Kotoka International Airport on Tuesday morning aboard United Airlines flight UA 996 from Washington D.C. Security officials immediately took her into custody upon arrival.
Her return marks a major milestone in one of Ghana’s most prominent corruption-related prosecutions involving a former public official and follows years of legal proceedings and international cooperation between Ghanaian and United States authorities.
The former MASLOC boss was convicted in absentia by the Accra High Court after being found guilty of multiple offences, including causing financial loss to the state and stealing. The court held that actions taken during her tenure at MASLOC between 2013 and 2016 resulted in losses estimated at nearly GH¢90 million.
The conviction followed a prolonged trial centred on allegations of misappropriation and diversion of public funds at the microfinance institution.
Attionu had been granted permission by the court in 2021 to travel to the United States for medical treatment while the trial was ongoing. However, she failed to return to Ghana to continue participating in the proceedings, prompting the court to continue the trial in her absence.
Following her conviction, the Government of Ghana initiated efforts to secure her return. In 2025, Ghana formally requested her extradition from the United States. The request was subsequently reviewed by a United States District Court in Nevada, which certified the extradition after considering evidence and legal submissions presented by Ghanaian authorities.
With her extradition completed and prison transfer imminent, the development is expected to bring a measure of closure to a case that has remained in the public spotlight for several years. Authorities have yet to indicate whether any further legal or administrative actions will follow her return.
The development is also likely to fuel public interest in other ongoing high-profile accountability cases, including those involving former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta and Ernest Darko Akore, as authorities pursue efforts to secure their return to Ghana in connection with ongoing corruption-related investigations and legal proceedings.
