Extradition of Ghanaian suspects from the US may not be ‘very quick’ – U.S. Embassy

The United States government says it is open to receiving requests for the extradition of Ghanaian fugitives but cautions that the process may not be “quick.”

Chargé d’Affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Accra, Rolf Olson, speaking at a media roundtable with visiting Deputy Assistant Secretary for West Africa, William B. Stevens, explained that the U.S. has established protocols that are activated if Ghana requests extradition of any person of interest.

His comments follow questions about why the Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyebeng, has not yet secured the extradition of former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta, who has been on the wanted list since early this year.

At the start of his trial in absentia on Thursday, December 11, the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) noted that some accused, including Ofori-Atta, are abroad citing health reasons, but that legal mechanisms and international cooperation have been applied to ensure their appearance.

As of Monday, December 8, 2025, over 3,100 people had signed a public petition addressed to the US Embassy in Accra calling for Ofori-Atta’s extradition. The petition, started by US-based Ghanaian Professor Stephen Kwaku Asare (Kwaku Azar) on December 2, requests that authorities confirm Ofori-Atta’s location, encourage cooperation between Ghanaian and US agencies, and expedite any official extradition request.

Rolf Olson said that while the door is open for extradition requests, the evaluation process in the US is “very well-established and generally not very quick.” He noted that US judges make the final decision to approve or deny requests.

So far this year, US law enforcement agencies have extradited nine Ghanaians, most of whom were involved in romance scams, a growing form of transnational crime in West Africa…CONTINUE MORE READING>>>