The United States Immigration Court’s approval of the permanent resident petition by former Minister for Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, does not provide immunity from extradition.
According to US law 18 U.S.C., on extradition, the United States can legally extradite persons, including lawful permanent residents (LPRs or Green Card holders).
Chapter 209 of the statute 18 U.S.C. provides the legal framework that the U.S. authority will follow if it receives an extradition request from Ghana, as a treaty exists between both countries.
The extradition proceedings and U.S. immigration proceedings are separate legal tracks and the granting of the former would be based on the tenets of the treaty of extradition between both countries.
GREEN CARD
News broke on Tuesday, June 16, 2026 of the U.S. Immigration Court granting a permanent resident petition by Ken Ofori-Atta.
A statement issued by his lawyers, Minkah-Premo, Osei-Bonsu, Bruce-Cathline& Partners, said Ken Ofori-Atta’s “Green Card 1-485 petition has been granted by the U.S. Immigration Court.”
Signed by Justice Kusi-MinkahPremoEsq., Solicitor for Ken Ofori-Atta, “The court’s ruling was made within the context of United States immigration proceedings. The court’s decision was focused on whether Mr Ofori-Atta met the legal requirements for adjustment of
status”.
The statement also noted that the court heard evidence relating to actions taken by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), including the OSP’s earlier decision to declare Ken Ofori-Atta a fugitive from justice, adding that the court found the “criminal charges in Ghana not credible”.
OSP
Moments after news broke yesterday, the OSP said it was not involved in the immigration hearings in the United States, involving Mr Ofori-Atta.
The OSP indicated that its “involvement is in respect of extradition proceedings against Mr Ofori-Atta through the Attorney-General as the central authority”.
Though the lawyers for Ken Ofori-Atta claimed that the court heard the criminal charges in Ghana against their client, the OSP in its statement stressed that the packet was not before the U.S. Immigration court.
“The OSP states that the extradition packet is not before the immigration court and the credibility or otherwise of the criminal charges against Mr Ofori-Atta would be determined by the courts in Ghana, who have jurisdiction to determine his guilt or innocence.
“Further, Mr Ofori-Atta still remains a citizen of Ghana and he is still amenable to being extradited to Ghana if so decided by the extradition court in the United States”, the statement added.
Meanwhile, U.S. law does not automatically protect lawful permanent residents from extradition under an applicable extradition treaty, although treaty requirements and judicial review must still be satisfied.
BACKGROUND
On January 24, 2025 the OSP announced that Ken Ofori-Atta was under investigation for a number of corruption and corruption-related matters.
The probe included the Strategic Mobilisation Limited (SML) contracts, the National Cathedral project and other transactions during his tenure.
The OSP summoned him for questioning, but he did not show up by the February 10, 2025 date, as he was already in the U.S. about a month earlier for medical treatment, prompting Special Prosecutor KissiAgyebeng to tag him a wanted person and fugitive from justice on February 12, 2025.
The situation calmed briefly after Ofori-Atta’s lawyers sent a letter to the OSP on February 17, 2025 claiming that he was having medical treatment abroad and would make himself available by May 30, 2025.
On the next day, February 18, 2025 the OSP accepted the explanation, removed him off its wanted list and scheduled his appearance for June 2, 2025 warning that failure to comply would result in further enforcement action.
Ofori-Atta was a no-show at the OSP on June 2, 2025 prompting the office to announce him as a fugitive from justice and the commencement of the process of obtaining an INTERPOL Red Notice and the extradition proceedings to return him to Ghana.
The OSP made a formal request for extradition to the Attorney-General on 19 November 2025 and this was passed through diplomatic channels to the US authorities on 10 December 2025. The Attorney-General publicly confirmed the extradition request on December 18, 2025.
As of January 2026, Ofori-Atta was engaged in immigration proceedings in the United States. The OSP told an Accra High Court on February 26, 2026 that there were immigration and extradition proceedings pending in the United States and that the US Department of Justice had confirmed receipt of Ghana’s extradition application, which was pending.
Ken Ofori-Atta has consistently denied any wrongdoing through his lawyers, but the OSP has insisted that he should come back to Ghana to answer questions on the ongoing investigations.
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