The Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Dr Dominic Ayine, has confirmed that Ghana has formally transmitted an extradition request for former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta and an alleged accomplice, Ernest Darko Kore, to authorities in the United States.
Dr Ayine disclosed this on Thursday, December 18, 2025, while speaking at the government’s Accountability Series.
He said the process was initiated by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) on November 19, 2025, when it submitted a request for the commencement of extradition proceedings against the two individuals in connection with ongoing investigations.
According to the Attorney General, the request relates to alleged involvement in causing financial loss to the state in the Strategic Mobilisation Limited (SML) case.
Dr Ayine explained that after a preliminary assessment, the International Cooperation Unit of the Attorney General’s Department identified gaps in the documentation submitted by the OSP that needed to be addressed to meet legal and procedural requirements.
“As a result, we communicated our observations to the Office of the Special Prosecutor in a letter dated November 25 and requested additional documentation to ensure completeness,” he said.
He noted that the OSP responded on December 9, 2025, with supplementary documents that addressed the concerns raised, effectively finalising the extradition request package.
The Attorney General said his office subsequently forwarded the completed request to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on December 10, 2025, for onward transmission to the United States Department of Justice.
Dr Ayine stressed, however, that the final decision lies with the US authorities.
“At this point, it is left to the authorities of the United States, particularly the judicial authorities, to determine whether there is sufficient basis for the two accused persons to be extradited to Ghana to stand trial,” he said.
