Interpol issues red notice for Ofori-Atta in Ghana’s corruption case
Ken Ofori-Atta, Ghana’s former finance minister, has been placed on Interpol’s Red Notice list, accused of alleged public office abuse and causing financial losses to the state. According to the BBC, this follows earlier, similar charges by Ghanaian prosecutors, who declared him a wanted person and fugitive.
While a Red Notice is not an international arrest warrant, it requests police forces worldwide to detain a person pending extradition. Ofori-Atta has yet to address the allegations publicly but claims he has been unlawfully treated and remains out of the country for purported medical reasons.
Among the accusations are questions over procurement procedures, including the construction of a controversial church which, despite $58 million (£46.6m) being spent, remains little more than a hole in the ground.
In February, Ofori-Atta appealed to the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) to remove his name from the wanted list and provided a definite return date in May — an appeal that State Prosecutor Kissi Agyebeng accepted. However, in March, Ofori-Atta filed a lawsuit, claiming unlawful treatment and demanding the removal of related posts from the OSP’s social media accounts. In early June, he was again placed on the wanted list after failing to appear before an investigative panel.
In a move that surprised many, Kissi Agyebeng then issued a formal request for a Red Notice, seeking international assistance to locate Ofori-Atta. “We want him here physically, and we insist on it. A suspect in a criminal investigation does not pick and choose how the investigative body conducts its investigations,” Agyebeng said.
The Red Notice, issued on June 5th, accuses Ofori-Atta of “using public office for profit.”
Ofori-Atta served as finance minister from January 2017 to February 2024 under the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government. However, after the NPP lost the December 2024 elections to the National Democratic Congress, new president John Mahama launched an investigative campaign titled Operation Recover All Loot. The committee has since received over 200 corruption complaints, reportedly amounting to more than $20 billion in recoverable funds.
Mahama has pledged to set a new tone for Ghanaian politics — one, as he claims, untainted by corruption. However, critics have already accused him of hypocrisy for allegedly dropping cases involving some of his former allies currently on trial.
BBC
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