Ofori-Atta Loses ‘Wanted’ Declaration Fight

 

Former Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, has lost another legal battle challenging the decision of the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) to declare him wanted for corruption and related offences.

Mr. Ofori-Atta had filed an application before a High Court challenging the authenticity of a court warrant by which the OSP declared him wanted.

The ex-minister had argued that the OSP unlawfully obtained the warrant and asked the court to set aside all related proceedings, including an Interpol Red Notice alert.

Lawyers from the OSP debunked the allegation and argued that there is no evidence that it acted outside the law to obtain the warrant.

The court, in its ruling, held that the application lacked merit and subsequently dismissed it in its entirety.

The dismissal of the application means that the OSP’s declaration of Mr. Ofori-Atta as wanted person and fugitive remains in force as steps are taken to extradite him to Ghana to face justice.

 

Second Defeat

This is the second time Mr. Ofori-Atta has failed in his attempts to restrain the OSP from declaring him wanted.

On June 18, 2025, a High Court dismissed an application for interlocutory injunction he filed, holding that the former minister failed to convince the court that irreparable harm will befall him that could not be remedied by way of award of damages if the interim injunction is not granted.

The court, presided over by Justice Kwame Amoako, was also of the view that the balance of convenience tilts heavily in favour of the OSP given the public nature and interest which formed its decision to declare him wanted.

He quoted several Supreme Court cases which sounded caution in the exercise of judicial discretion in granting interlocutory injunctions against state institutions and persons performing constitutional and statutory functions.

 

Wanted

On June 2, 2025, the OSP re-entered the name of the former Finance Minister on the list of wanted persons and declared him a fugitive from justice in relation to an ongoing investigation into corruption and related offences.

The OSP also triggered processes for the issuance of an Interpol Red Notice of the location and provisional of arrest of Mr. Ofori-Atta in whichever jurisdiction.

Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyebeng, speaking at a press conference said his Office had dispatched a request for extradition processes to be instituted for the provisional apprehension of Mr. Ofori-Atta in any jurisdiction he may be located or found and his extradition to Ghana.

The Special Prosecutor further indicated that his office will initiate criminal proceedings against Mr. Ofori-Atta whether in absentia or otherwise.

Although his lawyers had written to the OSP asking for a virtual interrogation as result of a change in his medical conditions, the OSP rejected the request, indicating that the former minister has failed to provide any medical report which suggests that “he is a travel risk and unable to return to the jurisdiction by reason of his medical condition.”

 

Red Notice

On June 5, 2025, Mr. Ofori-Atta was placed on Interpol’s Red Notice List following the OSP’s request.

The Interpol notice indicated that Mr. Ofori-Atta is wanted on the charge of using public office for profit.

A Red Notice is a request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action. A Red Notice is not an international arrest warrant.

 

BY Gibril Abdul Razak

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