News In: US revoked Ken Ofori-Atta’s visa – Report

The Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Dr Dominic Ayine, has disclosed that former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta’s visa to the United States was revoked and not simply overstayed.

Speaking on Newsfile on Saturday, January 10, Dr Ayine said US authorities had earlier directed Ofori-Atta to leave the country by November 29, 2024, but he failed to do so. He said the revocation was intentional and linked to ongoing investigations, and not a routine immigration issue.

“This is not exactly about immigration. His visa is not expired. It expires in February. No, it was revoked. I am telling you this on authority,” Dr Ayine said.

He explained that US authorities had planned to arrest Ofori-Atta on January 4, 2026, but that attempt did not succeed. He was later arrested on January 6 in the Virginia area and taken into custody.

According to Dr Ayine, the extradition request sent to the United States is connected to investigations by the Office of the Special Prosecutor into the SML matter.

“I have been working with the Americans diligently on him. And the visa was revoked. And that is how come that he lost his immigration status in the United States,” he said.

Meanwhile, lawyer for Ofori-Atta, Frank Davies, said his client’s legal team in the US is working to resolve the immigration issue quickly. Speaking to Citi Eyewitness News on January 8, Davies said Ofori-Atta had applied for an extension of his immigration status.

Despite the application, he was arrested by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and is currently being held at the Caroline Detention Facility.

“The little I know from our counterpart lawyers in the US, limited as it is, is that he’s put in a petition for an extension of his immigration status, and contingent upon that, ICE, for whatever reason, picked him up,” Davies said.

He added that the basis for the detention is still unclear but assured that efforts are being made to resolve the matter.

“They are working to have this matter determined expeditiously. In the fullness of time, maybe in the next day or two, we will all get to know what decision has been taken,” he said.

The case has attracted nationwide attention as it brings together US immigration enforcement and Ghana’s ongoing investigations involving Ofori-Atta…CONTINUE MORE READING>>>