The former Chief Executive Officer of the Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC), Sedina Tamakloe-Attionu, has been taken into custody in the United States following an extradition request by the Government of Ghana. Ghana’s Ambassador to the United States, Victor Emmanuel Smith, confirmed in a statement dated January 15, 2026, that Mrs. Tamakloe-Attionu was apprehended by United States Marshals on January 6. She is currently being held at the Nevada Southern Detention Center in Pahrump, Nevada, as she awaits a court appearance to determine the next steps in the extradition process.
The arrest follows a 2024 legal judgment in which Mrs. Tamakloe-Attionu was convicted in absentia by an Accra High Court on 78 counts, including stealing, money laundering, and causing financial loss to the state. The court sentenced her to 10 years’ imprisonment with hard labor after she failed to return to Ghana while on authorized medical leave abroad.
The charges stemmed from the misappropriation of funds intended for small business microloans during her tenure at the agency. Ghanaian authorities formally submitted the extradition request in July 2024 to ensure she serves her sentence and faces further legal accountability.
Ruth Abla ADJORLOLO
