US Grants Permanent Residency To Fugitive Ghana Ex-Finance Minister
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The United States has granted permanent residency to Ghana’s Ken Ofori-Atta, his lawyer said Tuesday, capping a saga that saw the fugitive ex-finance minister arrested by immigration authorities.
In January, however, he was arrested by US immigration authorities over “the status of his current stay”, his lawyers said at the time, rather than his legal woes back home.
The former minister was declared a fugitive by Ghanaian authorities in February 2025 and formally charged with corruption in November.
He was arrested by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) while applying to extend his stay in the country.
“Ken Ofori-Atta’s Green card I-485 petition has been granted by US Immigration Court,” his attorney Justice Kusi-Minkah Premo said in a statement.
“The Court finds the criminal charges in Ghana not credible,” he said, though he added the decision “was focused on whether Mr Ofori-Atta met the legal requirements for adjustment of status”.
Current President John Mahama has pursued a crackdown on corruption, though critics say he has unfairly targeted political enemies.
AFP
