Sedina Tamakloe-Attionu to Appear in US Court Over Extradition to Ghana
US judge to decide on extradition of ex-MASLOC boss convicted in absentia in Ghana
- Sedina Tamakloe-Attionu is set to appear in a US court on January 21 over extradition to Ghana.
- She was arrested by US Marshals following a 2024 extradition request by the Ghanaian government.
- The former MASLOC CEO was sentenced in absentia to 10 years’ imprisonment in April 2024.
Former Chief Executive Officer of the Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC), Sedina Tamakloe-Attionu, is expected to appear before a United States court on January 21 to determine whether she will be extradited to Ghana.
Ghana’s Ambassador to the United States, Victor Smith, disclosed this in an interview on Citi Eyewitness News on Friday, January 16. He explained that Tamakloe-Attionu was arrested by the US Marshals following an extradition request submitted by the Ghanaian government in 2024.
According to Ambassador Smith, Ghanaian authorities and embassy officials have so far been denied access to her by the US Marshals, although the reasons for the restriction remain unclear.
“In this particular case, she was arrested by the US Marshals. For now, they are not allowing us to visit her, but she is scheduled to appear in court. Once the extradition request was ready to be enforced, they moved in,” he said.
He noted that the January 21 court appearance will be a crucial stage in the extradition process, during which Tamakloe-Attionu’s legal team will have the opportunity to present arguments against her transfer to Ghana.
Tamakloe-Attionu has been held at the Nevada Southern Detention Centre since January 7, following the activation of the extradition request.
Background
In April 2024, an Accra High Court sentenced Sedina Tamakloe-Attionu in absentia to 10 years’ imprisonment with hard labour after convicting her on 78 counts, including causing financial loss to the state, stealing, conspiracy to steal, money laundering, and breaches of the Public Procurement Act.
Her co-accused, former MASLOC Chief Operating Officer Daniel Axim, was also convicted and sentenced to five years’ imprisonment with hard labour.
The offences, committed between 2013 and 2016, involved the misappropriation of MASLOC funds. The trial, which began in 2019, featured six prosecution witnesses. Tamakloe-Attionu was tried in absentia after failing to return to Ghana following permission to travel abroad for medical treatment, while Axim appeared and testified.
Court findings included the improper handling of a GH¢500,000 loan to Obaatampa Savings and Loans Company, as well as the misappropriation of more than GH¢1.7 million meant for a sensitisation exercise and GH¢1.4 million allocated to victims of the Kantamanso fire disaster. Investigators also uncovered inflated procurement costs for vehicles and Samsung mobile phones, with payments far exceeding market prices despite bulk purchases.
