Ken Ofori-Atta, Ghana’s former finance minister, has been remanded into the custody of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement following a closed-door immigration hearing on Tuesday, January 20, 2026. The proceeding, held at the request of his legal team, centered on a bail application but quickly turned on questions of extradition.
State attorneys opposed bail, arguing that Ghana had submitted an extradition request. Judge David A. Gardey, however, declined to rule immediately, noting that no documentary evidence had been presented. “The court cannot act on assertions without proof,” Judge Gardey said, directing federal attorneys to file any supporting documents by February 19.
The case was adjourned until April 27, when the tribunal is expected to revisit both the bail application and any evidence of extradition. Until then, Mr. Ofori-Atta will remain in ICE detention.
His detention was first disclosed on January 7 by his Ghanaian lawyers, Minkah-Premo, Osei-Bonsu, Bruce-Cathline & Partners. The firm said he had been taken into custody a day earlier over concerns about his immigration status. “The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), as of January 6, 2026, detained the former Minister for Finance, Mr Ken Ofori-Atta, regarding the status of his current stay in the United States,” the firm said in a public notice signed by Justice Kusi-Minkah Premo, Esq.
Mr. Ofori-Atta’s attorneys emphasized that he has a pending petition for adjustment of status. This legal process allows individuals to remain in the United States beyond the validity of their visa. “Under U.S. law, a change of status by this method is common,” the statement noted, adding that the former minister is “a law-abiding person” and is cooperating fully with ICE.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, Mr. Ofori-Atta is being held at the Caroline Detention Facility in Bowling Green, Va.
The case has garnered widespread attention in Ghana, where Mr. Ofori-Atta’s legal and medical history has been closely monitored. He has been in the United States since January 2025, seeking treatment for prostate cancer. On June 13, 2025, he underwent a radical prostatectomy at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., after tests showed progression of the disease. Family sources say he had been under medical observation for weeks before the surgery. He is also managing post-COVID multi-system inflammatory response syndrome, a condition diagnosed in February 2021.
Mr. Ofori-Atta served as Ghana’s finance minister from 2017 to 2023, steering the economy through the pandemic, debt restructuring, and negotiations with the International Monetary Fund. In November 2025, the Office of the Special Prosecutor charged him and several others with corruption and related offenses. That case remains at the case management conference stage.
