The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the United States of America (USA) has detained the former finance minister Ken Ofori-Atta, but his US legal team is working frantically to have him released.
Lawyers for Ofori-Atta in Ghana, Minkah-Premo, Osei-Bonsu, Bruce-Cathline & Partners (MPOBB), made the announcement in a public notice.
The MPOBB public notice, issued on Wednesday (7 January 2026) and signed by Justice Kusi-Minkah Premo Esq, noted that the detention resulted from challenges regarding the status of Ofori-Atta’s continued stay in the United States.
“The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), as of yesterday (6 January 2026), detained the former Minister for Finance, Mr Ken Ofori-Atta, regarding the status of his current stay in the United States. His US legal team is in contact with ICE and expects the matter to be resolved expeditiously.
“Mr Ofori-Atta has a pending petition for adjustment of status, which authorises a person to stay in the US legally past the period of validity of their visa. Under US law, a change of status by this method is common,” the public notice issued by MPOBB says.
“The public is, therefore, advised to note that he is a law-abiding person and is fully cooperating with ICE to have this issue resolved. His legal team is in contact with ICE and working to resolve the matter as expeditiously as possible,” the notice from Ofori-Atta’s lawyers further says.
According to the official website of the Depratment of Homeland Security, Mr Ofori-Atta is in ICE custody at the Caroline Detention Facility located at 11093 SW Lewis Memorial Drive, Bowling Green, VA 22427.
Background
Ken Ofori-Atta has been in the United States since January 2025 for medical treatment. He had surgery in the US following a diagnosis of prostate cancer.
The procedure, a radical prostatectomy, took place on 13 June 2025 at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Medical sources described the surgery as a crucial step after recent tests revealed signs of the cancer’s progression.
Doctors reportedly confirmed the diagnosis in March 2025 after MRI scans and a biopsy detected an increased spread of cancer cells in the prostate.
Ofori-Atta had been receiving treatment and undergoing monitoring in the US for several weeks ahead of the operation, sources close to the family said.
He had also been managing post-COVID multi-system inflammatory response syndrome, initially diagnosed in February 2021 — a condition that has required ongoing medical oversight.
Mr Ofori-Atta served as Ghana’s finance minister from 2017 to 2023, playing a key role in the country’s economic management during a turbulent period that included the COVID-19 pandemic and negotiations with the International Monetary Fund.
In November 2025, the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) charged him and others with corruption and corruption-related offences. The trial is at the case management conference (CMC) stage.
Reporting by Wilberforce Asare in Accra
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