Former Chief Executive Officer of the now-defunct Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC), Sedina Tamakloe-Attionu, has been returned to Ghana from the United States to begin serving a prison sentence imposed by the High Court.

‎According to a statement posted on Facebook by the Minister of State for Government Communications, Felix Kwakye Ofosu on Tuesday, June 9, 2026 Tamakloe-Attionu was convicted and sentenced in absentia by the High Court in April 2024.

‎Following the conviction, the Government of Ghana submitted a formal extradition request to the United States in July 2024, seeking her surrender to serve her sentence in Ghana.

‎After more than two years of legal proceedings, U.S. authorities informed the Government of Ghana in January 2026 that the extradition request had been approved. Tamakloe-Attionu arrived in Accra on Tuesday, June 9, 2026.

‎Officials of the Ghana Police Service and the Ghana Prisons Service have since taken her into custody and are making the necessary arrangements for her incarceration.

‎Meanwhile, Ghana’s Attorney-General is expected to hold bilateral discussions with officials of the United States Department of Justice on pending extradition requests between the two countries.

‎In 2024, the Accra High Court convicted Sedina Attionu in absentia and sentenced her to 10 years imprisonment after finding her guilty of multiple offences, including causing financial loss to the state and stealing. The court held that her actions during her tenure as MASLOC Chief Executive between 2013 and 2016 resulted in a financial loss of nearly GH¢90 million to the state.

‎The conviction stemmed from a prolonged legal battle involving allegations of misappropriation and the diversion of state resources during her administration of the government-funded microfinance institution.

‎Sedina Attionu had initially been granted permission by the High Court in 2021 to travel to the United States for medical treatment while her trial was ongoing. However, she failed to return to Ghana to continue participating in the proceedings, prompting the court to continue the trial in her absence.

‎Following her conviction and sentencing, Ghanaian authorities intensified efforts to secure her return. In 2025, the Government of Ghana formally requested her extradition from the United States.

‎The extradition request was subsequently considered by a US District Court sitting in the State of Nevada. After reviewing the application and the supporting legal documentation submitted by Ghanaian authorities, the court certified the extradition request, paving the way for her return to Ghana to face the consequences of the court’s judgment.

‎Her arrival marks a significant development in one of Ghana’s most high-profile corruption-related prosecutions involving a former state official.

‎Sompaonline.com/Prince Atta-Boateng