Former Ghanaian Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta has been remanded into the custody of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) following a closed-door immigration hearing held on Tuesday, January 20, 2026.
The private hearing, conducted at the request of his legal team, centred on an application for bail. However, U.S. state attorneys opposed the request, arguing that Mr Ofori-Atta should remain detained due to an alleged extradition request submitted by the Government of Ghana.
In his ruling, presiding Judge David A. Gardey declined to make an immediate finding on the extradition claim, stating that the court had not been presented with any documentary evidence to support the assertion.
“The court cannot act on assertions without proof,” Judge Gardey ruled.
He subsequently directed the federal government to file any documentation relating to a formal extradition request on or before February 19, 2026.
The matter has been adjourned to Thursday, April 27, at 1:00 p.m., when the tribunal is expected to consider both the bail application and any evidence submitted by the government. Until then, Mr Ofori-Atta will remain in ICE detention.
News of his detention first emerged on January 7, 2026, when his Ghanaian legal representatives—Minkah-Premo, Osei-Bonsu, Bruce-Cathline & Partners (MPOBB)—confirmed that he had been taken into custody a day earlier over concerns surrounding his immigration status.
In a public statement signed by Justice Kusi-Minkah Premo, Esq., the firm explained that ICE detained the former minister on January 6, 2026, in relation to the legality of his continued stay in the United States.
The lawyers disclosed that Mr Ofori-Atta currently has a pending petition for adjustment of status, a lawful immigration process that allows eligible individuals to remain in the U.S. beyond the expiration of their visa.
“Under U.S. law, this process is common,” the statement noted, adding that Mr Ofori-Atta is a “law-abiding person” who is fully cooperating with immigration authorities.
Records from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security indicate that he is presently being held at the Caroline Detention Facility in Bowling Green, Virginia.
The case has drawn significant attention in Ghana, particularly in light of Mr Ofori-Atta’s ongoing legal and medical challenges.
He has remained in the United States since January 2025 to seek medical treatment for prostate cancer. Reports indicate that he underwent a radical prostatectomy at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, on June 13, 2025, after medical tests showed progression of the disease.
Family sources say he was under close medical observation for several weeks prior to the surgery. He is also reportedly managing post-COVID multi-system inflammatory response syndrome, a condition he was diagnosed with in February 2021.
Mr Ofori-Atta served as Ghana’s Minister for Finance from 2017 to 2023, overseeing the economy during the COVID-19 pandemic, Ghana’s debt restructuring process, and negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
In November 2025, the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) charged him and several others with corruption and corruption-related offences. That case is currently at the case management conference stage.
