The convicted former Chief Executive Officer of the Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC), Sedina Christine Tamakloe-Attionu, has been extradited to Ghana.
According to a social media post by the United States’ Embassy in Ghana, on Tuesday, June 9, 2026 she arrived yesterday from the United States of America.
“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,” the post said.
Moments after the US Embassy in Ghana announced her extradition to Ghana, the government’s spokesperson, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, took to his Facebook page to inform the public that Madam Sedina Tamakloe had arrived in Ghana and was in custody.
“Officials of the Ghana Police Service and the Ghana Prisons Service have taken her into custody and are making the necessary preparations for her to begin her sentence,” the post said in part.
She was prosecuted for over 70 alleged criminal offences, including allegations of procurement breaches, stealing, money laundering and financial loss to the state. She was accused of embezzling some $6 million USD of public funds.
Her criminal trial, a conviction in absentia and the international extradition battle stretching from Accra to Nevada in the United States span over a decade.
THE RISE
Madam Sedina Tamakloe Attionu was one of the prominent appointees of the first Mahama administration from 2013 to 2016.
She was appointed to head MASLOC, the public agency established to provide microcredit and financial support to small-scale entrepreneurs, traders, farmers and vulnerable groups.
As the CEO of the poverty alleviation agency, she oversaw loan disbursement programmes and special intervention initiatives.
LEGAL TROUBLES
The administration of President John Dramani Mahama was voted out of office in December 2016, bringing in President Akufo-Addo’s government.
After taking charge of the affairs of government from January 2017, several investigations were initiated into activities of state institutions, including MASLOC.
The probe uncovered dozens of issues, with prosecutors alleging that large sums of public money had either been misplaced, diverted or improperly accounted for.
Investigators scrutinised transactions involving funds released for beneficiary sensitisation programmes, monitoring exercises and support interventions.
The prosecution again probed procurement contracts and commitments entered into by MASLOC during the period of Sedina Tamakloe.
THE TRIAL
Confident about the wrongs uncovered, the state eventually filed loads of charges against her and former MASLOC operations manager Daniel Axim.
The charges included stealing, conspiracy to steal, wilfully causing financial loss to the state, conspiracy to cause financial loss, money laundering, causing loss to public property and procurement-related offences.
The trial, which caught public attention, was heard at the Financial and Economic Division of the Accra High Court before Justice Afia Serwah Asare-Botwe.
TRAVEL TO US
The trial witnessed a major turning point in 2021 when Sedina Tamakloe-Attionu, who was on bail, applied to the court for permission to travel to the United States for medical treatment, an application the court granted.
However, Madam Sedina, the accused, failed to return to Ghana to continue participating in her criminal trial proceedings, with prosecution maintaining that she had effectively absconded from justice.
TRIAL IN ABSENTIA
Nonetheless, the court proceeded under legal provisions that allowed criminal proceedings in the absence of an accused person under certain circumstances.
Subsequent to her failure to return, the proceedings moved forward with the other accused, Daniel Axim, remaining before the court.
On April 16, 2024, Justice Afia Serwah Asare-Botwe delivered judgement and found Sedina Tamakloe-Attionu guilty on multiple counts involving stealing, causing financial loss to the state, money laundering, procurement breaches and related offences.
She was sentenced in absentia to ten years’ imprisonment with hard labour, while her co-accused Daniel Axim received a five-year prison term.
FUGITIVE
Immediately after the conviction, the state moved to secure an arrest warrant, with prosecutors describing Sedina Tamakloe-Attionu as a fugitive from justice.
The High Court subsequently issued a warrant for her arrest and directed efforts toward recovering monies associated with the offences for which she had been convicted.
EXTRADITION PROCESS
The Attorney-General’s Department, under Godfred Yeboah Dame, announced that extradition proceedings would commence.
The then Deputy Attorney-General, Alfred Tuah-Yeboah, publicly stated that Ghana possessed legal mechanisms to secure the return of convicted persons from foreign jurisdictions.
As such, the state then began assembling documentation required under the extradition treaty framework between Ghana and the United States.
The location of Madam Sedina within the United States was identified and diplomatic, legal and law-enforcement channels were activated as extradition efforts intensified.
She was arrested in Nevada by the United States authorities in January 2026 and taken into custody following Ghana’s extradition request.
NEVADA COURT
The extradition request was brought before Magistrate Judge Daniel J. Albregts in the United States District Court in Nevada.
The court examined whether an extradition treaty existed and remained valid, whether Ghana had presented sufficient evidence, whether the person arrested was the same individual sought by Ghana and whether the offences satisfied extradition requirements.
In all, the court ultimately answered all four questions in the affirmative and on April 9, 2026 the Nevada Court certified Sedina Tamakloe-Attionu’s extradition.
The court ruled that sufficient evidence existed to support extradition and ordered that she remain in U.S. Marshals’ custody pending final executive action by the U.S. Secretary of State.
SURRENDER
The decision by the court did not automatically conclude the extradition process, as under U.S. law, the final surrender decision rests with the Secretary of State.
If the U.S. Secretary of State did not give the green light, Madam Sedina may not have been handed over to Ghanaian authorities for her to serve the sentence.
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