The United States has extradited former chief executive of the Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC) Sedina Tamakloe-Attionu to Ghana to serve a prison sentence for corruption-related offences involving millions of dollars in public funds, in what officials described as the first extradition from the United States to Ghana in nearly two decades.

The U.S. Embassy in Accra announced the extradition on Tuesday (9 June), saying the move demonstrated the strength of cooperation between American and Ghanaian law enforcement authorities and their shared commitment to accountability.

Tamakloe-Attionu, was convicted by a Ghanaian court on more than 70 charges, including stealing, causing financial loss to the state, conspiracy and money laundering. Ghanaian authorities say the offences resulted in the misappropriation of public funds equivalent to more than six million U.S. dollars.

Her return marks the culmination of a lengthy legal process that began after she failed to return to Ghana following permission granted by the court to seek medical treatment in the United States while her criminal trial was ongoing.

In 2024, an Accra High Court convicted Tamakloe-Attionu in absentia and sentenced her to 10 years’ imprisonment after finding her guilty of offences linked to losses estimated at nearly GH¢90 million during her tenure at MASLOC between 2013 and 2016.

A U.S. District Court in Nevada later certified Ghana’s extradition request, ruling that the extradition treaty between the two countries remained valid and that there was sufficient probable cause supporting the offences for which Ghana sought her return. The court ordered that she be held in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending a final decision by U.S. authorities.

According to court records and U.S. law enforcement accounts, Tamakloe-Attionu was arrested in Nevada earlier this year after Ghana formally requested her extradition.

The U.S. Embassy said the extradition underscores growing cooperation between the two countries in combating corruption and ensuring that individuals accused or convicted of serious financial crimes cannot evade justice by crossing borders.

The case has been closely watched in Ghana, where it has become one of the country’s most prominent corruption prosecutions involving a former senior government official.

The extradition is also significant diplomatically, marking the first known extradition from the United States to Ghana since 2009, according to the U.S. Embassy.