Ghana’s former Minister of Finance, Kenneth Nana Yaw Ofori-Atta, remains in United States Immigration and Customs and Enforcement custody after his first appearance before an immigration judge in Virginia on Tuesday.
The court obliged an in-camera hearing at the behest of his lawyers.
ICE, considers the former Minister of Finance and illegal alien who is facing corruption and corruption related offences in Ghana.
The accused according to his lawyers is seeking to adjust his status even though his visa was revoked by the Department of State in July 2025 and given up to November to leave the United States.
Mr Ofori-Atta’s legal team asked Justice David A. Gardey to admit their client to bail but state attorneys opposed the request, arguing that Mr Ofori-Atta should not be granted bail because Ghana has submitted an extradition request for him.
However, Justice did not make consider the request for bail, stating that no documentary evidence of extradition was before him.
“The court cannot act on assertions without proof,” the judge indicated, directing the federal government to file any evidence of an extradition request on or before February 19, 2026.
The case has been adjourned to Thursday, April 27, at 1pm, when the tribunal is expected to hear both the bail application and any documents the government may submit.
Mr Ofori-Atta who left Ghana for the United States on January 4, 2025 for medical treatment at Mayo Clinic, Minnessota, was arrested on the morning of January 6, 2026 in Washington, D.C., by agents of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) of the United States.
Until his arrest by ICE, the former Minister of Finance, was declared a fugitive of justice by Ghana’s Office of Special Prosecutor (OSP) for corruption and corruption related offences.
Mr Ofori-Atta, Strategic Mobilisation Limited, a revenue assurance company, and six others were charged with 78 counts of alleged procurement breaches and causing finacial loss of GH¢1.4 billion to the state.
The trial is ongoing before a high court in Accra.
Ken Ofori-Atta was arrested when he emerged from a magnificent luxury apartment building, where he had been living in the U.S. ICE, when agents surrounded him, led him into a vehicle, and drove him away to a detention facility 89 miles away.
He was driven to the Caroline Detention Facility in Virginia, about an hour and a half drive from where he was arrested.
Mr Ofori-Atta was arrested at the entrance of the Westlight apartment complex in Washington, D.C. The Westlight building is located at 1111 24th Street NW, Washington, D.C.
Sources say Ken Ofori-Atta, until his arrest and detention, lived in the Westlight building with his son and his wife.
The Westlight Building is less than a mile from the White House, about 20 minutes’ walk.
Located in the affluent West End neighborhood of Washington, D.C., the Westlight building is renowned for its security and proximity to some of the city’s most significant landmarks, attracting affluent and prominent residents.
Mr Ofori-Atta travelled on a Ghanaian passport that has valid visas to the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States.
Mr Ofori-Atta’s U.S. visa will expire on February 14, 2026. His UK Visa will expire on April 21, 2032, and his Canadian visa will expire on May 31, 2031.
BY MALIK SUEMANA
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