The Court of Appeal has unanimously overturned the conviction and 10-year prison sentence imposed on former Chief Executive Officer of the Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC), Sedina Tamakloe-Attionu, acquitting and discharging her of all charges.
In a judgment delivered on Thursday, the three-member panel, comprising Justices Emmanuel Ankamah, Emmanuel Senyo Amedahe and Samuel Obeng-Diawuo, held that the prosecution failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt, setting aside the convictions entered against her by the High Court.
The appellate court criticised the approach adopted by the trial court, stating that it had lost sight of the constitutional principle that every accused person is presumed innocent until proven guilty. The judges further observed that the prosecution’s evidence fell short of the legal standard required to sustain the convictions.
The court said its detailed reasons were contained in a 94-page judgment, which would be made available by the close of the day.
The ruling followed an appeal filed by Ms Tamakloe-Attionu challenging both her conviction and the propriety of her trial and sentencing in absentia. Her legal team argued that the charges against her were fundamentally defective and that the prosecution failed to establish the offences beyond reasonable doubt.
Ms Tamakloe-Attionu was convicted by the High Court in April 2024 after a trial that began in January 2019. She was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment after being found guilty on multiple charges, including causing financial loss to the state and stealing, in connection with the alleged misappropriation of state resources during her tenure as MASLOC Chief Executive.
She had faced 78 counts, including stealing, conspiracy to steal, wilfully causing financial loss to the state, causing loss to public property, improper payment of public funds, unauthorised commitment and money laundering.
The prosecution, led by the then Attorney-General, Godfred Yeboah Dame, and based largely on investigations by the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), alleged that she diverted public funds through several MASLOC programmes.
Among the allegations were the diversion of a GH¢500,000 loan intended for Obaatanpa Microfinance after the institution rejected the facility due to its interest rate, the misappropriation of funds earmarked for MASLOC sensitisation programmes, the diversion of relief funds meant for victims of the Kantamanto Market fire, and the inflated procurement of vehicles and mobile phones.
During the trial, the prosecution called seven witnesses and relied heavily on a forensic audit report to support its case.
Ms Tamakloe-Attionu travelled to the United States in 2021 with the permission of the High Court to seek medical treatment while her trial was ongoing but did not return. She was later extradited to Ghana on June 9, 2026, and began serving her 10-year sentence at the Nsawam Medium Security Female Prison on June 24, 2026.
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