By Ashiadey Dotse
Ghana’s Ambassador to the United States, Victor Emmanuel Smith, has disclosed that former Chief Executive Officer of the Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC), Sedina Tamakloe-Attionu, will appear before a US court on January 21, 2026, to determine whether she will be extradited to Ghana.
The ambassador made this known during 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 made by the Ghanaian government in 2024.
According to Ambassador Smith, officials of the Ghanaian government and the embassy have so far not been allowed to visit her since her arrest, although the reasons for the restriction remain unclear.
“She was arrested by the US Marshals, and for now they are not allowing us to visit her. She is being held until she appears before a judge on the 21st of this month, and the judge will decide whether she should be extradited,” he said.
He added that during the court hearing, Tamakloe-Attionu’s legal team will have the opportunity to present arguments if there are reasons why she should not be sent back to Ghana.
Sedina Tamakloe-Attionu has been in custody at the Nevada Southern Detention Centre since January 7, 2026.
In April 2024, an Accra High Court sentenced her 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.
The offences, committed between 2013 and 2016, involved the misappropriation of funds meant for MASLOC operations. The court also found that funds meant for a sensitisation exercise and support for victims of the Kantamanso fire disaster were misused, alongside inflated procurement costs for vehicles and mobile phones.
Her co-accused, former MASLOC Chief Operating Officer Daniel Axim, was also convicted and sentenced to five years’ imprisonment with hard labour.
The trial began in 2019. Tamakloe-Attionu was tried in absentia after failing to return to Ghana after being granted permission to travel abroad for medical treatment.
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Source:
www.gbcghanaonline.com
