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.

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Ofori-Atta, 66, has been in the United States since January last year to receive medical treatment, including prostate cancer surgery.

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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.

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The former minister was declared a fugitive by Ghanaian authorities in February 2025 and formally charged with corruption in November.

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He was arrested by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) while applying to extend his stay in the country.

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“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.

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“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”.

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Ofori-Atta served as finance minister from 2017 to 2024 under former president Nana Akufo-Addo and oversaw contentious tax reforms and negotiations with the International Monetary Fund.

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Current President John Mahama has pursued a crackdown on corruption, though critics say he has unfarily targeted political enemies.

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AFP

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