The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has publicly addressed claims by the Deputy Attorney General (AG) that the OSP is frustrating efforts to extradite former Finance Minister, Kenneth Ofori Atta, from the United States, where he has been residing since January 2025. In a press statement released on October 20, 2025, the OSP provided a detailed timeline of events, affirming that the extradition process was initiated by their office and is actively ongoing.
The OSP, which began corruption and corruption-related investigations into Mr. Ofori Atta, secured a judicial warrant of arrest for him by the end of May 2025 and subsequently declared him a fugitive from justice. This was followed by successfully placing him on the INTERPOL Red Notice in early June 2025.
The formal extradition request was triggered by the OSP on June 2, 2025, through the Chief of Staff at the Presidency, who then transmitted it to the Attorney General’s Department on June 3, 2025. The AG’s Department serves as the Central Authority for such requests under the Mutual Legal Assistance arrangement.
The OSP confirmed that the AG requested the investigative docket and the inclusion of two OSP officers in a prosecution team on June 13, 2025. The Special Prosecutor responded on June 20, 2025, providing the names of the nominees. However, regarding the docket, the OSP informed the AG that work was extended following a search and seizure operation at the offices of Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited (SML) on June 10, 2025, which yielded a haul of new evidence requiring detailed examination and analysis.
The OSP insisted that “reasonable patience is required” and that it “does not sacrifice excellent and professional investigations on perceived frustration.”
The OSP firmly denied intentionally obstructing its own request, stating there is “absolutely no reason for the Attorney General’s Department to feel frustrated.” The statement emphasized the multi-agency nature of extradition, which involves sequential steps from investigation and evidence compilation to diplomatic transmission.
A separate security concern was raised regarding a leakage on social media on October 16, 2025, of highly sensitive official communications concerning the extradition process. The OSP placed on record that the leak did not originate from their office and posed “grave risks to ongoing investigations and to the safety of OSP personnel.”
The OSP concluded by stressing that the investigations remain “very active,” the extradition processes are underway, and there is no hint of an institutional cooperation breakdown between the two offices. The Special Prosecutor committed to briefing the public on the investigation outcomes before the end of October 2025.
Ruth Abla ADJORLOLO
