Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The United States has extradited Sedina Christine Tamakloe Attionu, the former Chief Executive Officer of Ghana’s Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC), to her home country to begin serving a 10-year prison sentence for the embezzlement of more than $6 million in public funds meant for poor entrepreneurs and small businesses. The extradition was completed on June 8, 2026, when US Marshals surrendered her to Ghanaian authorities. She was flown to Accra the following day and is now in police custody, making final arrangements to start her sentence.
The case marks one of the most significant international anti-corruption operations between Ghana and the United States in decades and the first extradition from Washington to Accra since 2009. It also represents the Trump administration’s first high‑profile surrender of a foreign official convicted of stealing public money, coming just days before the opening of the 2026 World Cup, which the US is co‑hosting.
Attionu, now 60, was the head of MASLOC from November 2013 to January 2017. The agency was created to provide low‑interest loans and financial support to small‑ and medium‑scale businesses, vulnerable communities and disaster‑affected households. Instead, US and Ghanaian investigators found, she systematically looted the agency. According to the US Department of Justice, she used her position to divert and misappropriate taxpayer funds through several schemes.
Prosecutors established that she directly stole money remitted to MASLOC, pocketed funds meant for outreach and disaster relief, purchased vehicles and mobile phones at grossly inflated prices, and authorised extra, unearned payments to herself and a co‑conspirator. The total amount stolen was more than $6 million, equivalent to nearly 90 million Ghana cedis.
The legal process against Attionu began in Ghana, where she attended part of her trial after obtaining permission from the court. In 2019, while the proceedings were ongoing, she asked for leave to travel to the United States for medical treatment. The court granted her request, but Attionu never returned. The court issued a warrant for her arrest, concluded that her absence was unjustified and proceeded with the trial without her.
On April 16, 2024, a High Court in Ghana convicted her in absentia on more than 70 criminal counts, including stealing, conspiracy to steal, causing financial loss to the state, money laundering, misappropriation of public property and violations of the Public Procurement Act. Her Chief Operating Officer, Daniel Axim, was also convicted and sentenced to five years in prison. The court sentenced Attionu to 10 years’ imprisonment with hard labour.
After the conviction, Ghana formally requested Attionu’s extradition from the United States in July 2024. The request moved slowly through the US legal system until the Trump administration took office in early 2025. At the request of the Justice Department, a US magistrate judge in the District of Nevada certified her extradition on April 9, 2026, and the Secretary of State authorised her surrender to Ghanaian authorities. She was arrested in Nevada on January 6, 2026.
The extradition has received strong backing from both governments. The US Embassy in Accra posted on its official social media account: “Justice has no borders. The United States has extradited Sedina Tamakloe‑Attionu to Ghana, following her conviction on 70+ corruption-related charges, including embezzling more than $6M equivalent in Ghanaian taxpayer funds. This demonstrates our strong U.S.-Ghana law enforcement partnership and shared commitment to accountability.”
The Ghanaian government has also welcomed the handover. Felix Kwakye Ofosu, the acting spokesman for the presidency, confirmed that Attionu arrived in Accra on June 9 and was immediately taken into custody by the Ghana Police Service and the Ghana Prisons Service.
“Officials of the Ghana Police Service and the Ghana Prisons Service have taken her into custody and are making the necessary arrangements for her to begin serving her sentence,” the statement said.
The extradition has reopened public debate about Ghana’s ability to hold senior officials accountable for corruption. The case is being watched closely in the context of other pending extradition requests from Ghana to the United States, including that of former Finance Minister Ken Ofori‑Atta, who was detained by US immigration authorities in January 2026 but later released on bail. The Attorney‑General of Ghana is expected to hold bilateral talks with the US Justice Department to discuss those pending cases and strengthen legal cooperation.
For the thousands of Ghanaian small‑business owners who applied for loans through MASLOC and never received the funds they were promised, the extradition offers a measure of vindication, though the money itself is gone. Attionu is now in Ghanaian police custody, and the 10‑year sentence she fled is waiting for her. On the tarmac of Kotoka International Airport, a former government official who once oversaw a programme for the poor stepped off a plane from the United States, and justice caught up with her.
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