Conversations emerged particularly after the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) began trial of one Ghana’s most persued official, former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta in absentia.

Many raised questions about the USA government’s position on extradition of Ghanaians in its country since the former Finance Minister has been pursed for about 11 months.

Addressing these concerns, Chargé d'Affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Accra, Rolf Olson, during a media roundtable conversation with visiting Deputy Assistant Secretary for West Africa in the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of African Affairs, William B. Stevens, on Friday, December 12, at the U.S. Embassy in Accra, emphasised that, the US government is always open to extradition requests from Ghana however, because the process is structured, and judicially driven, it usually takes time to complete.

Mr Rolf Olson revealed that, since President Mahama took office this year, the US government has extradited nine Ghanaians, with the majority of the cases linked to romance scams or what is recently described as “elder crime”.

“Since President Muhammad took office at the beginning of the year, Ghana has extradited nine individuals to the United States. Most of them have been involved in cybercrime, or what is commonly referred to as elder crime. These individuals can victimise anyone, and perhaps they already have, though that remains to be established. If proven in court, they are the kind of people who should be in prison, not free to take advantage of others, particularly older persons.

Although anyone could fall victim to such crimes, the idea of being targeted in this way is understandably horrifying,” he stressed.

He continued that “We are always open to receiving extradition requests. That is an important part of any good bilateral relationship, and certainly of ours. The process of evaluating an extradition request on the American side is very well established, but it is not generally very quick. Once we receive a request, it goes through the various mechanisms we have in place,” he said.

Meanwhile, during the trial at the Criminal Court 5 in Accra, the OSP told the courts that while Mr Ofori-Atta is currently outside Ghana and has cited health reasons for his absence, it has applied appropriate legal mechanisms, including summons and cooperation with international law enforcement where applicable, to ensure appearances as required by law.

As of Monday, December 8, 2025, more than 3,100 people had signed a public petition addressed to the US Embassy in Accra demanding the extradition of former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta.

US-based Ghanaian Professor Stephen Kwaku Asare, also known as Kwaku Azar, started the petition on December 2, asking American authorities to work with the Ghanaian government to help extradite Mr Ofori-Atta, who has been officially charged with economic crimes and corruption-related offences.

It requests that the Embassy help confirm Mr Ofori-Atta's location, encourage cooperation between Ghanaian and US authorities, and speed up the processing of any official extradition request.

However, commenting on whether or not the American government was willing to cooperate with local authorities to trigger any process in the US, Rolf Olson explained that processes for evaluating an extradition request on the American side are “very well-established and it is generally not very quick.”

He added that if the US receives a request, it goes through the various mechanisms. “But the door is always open to requests. There is no individual case that can be prejudged because US judges make the decisions, so they can approve or disapprove a request."

Meanwhile, before Ofori Atta’s trial, the OSP announced on Monday, November 24, that it had postponed it to a later date.

Although the OSP did not provide a reason for the adjournment, it indicated on the X platform on Monday that the new date would be made public.

According to the OSP, “CR/0106/2026 Kenneth Nana Yaw Ofori-Atta & 7 Ors. This case has been adjourned as the Court would not sit on the originally scheduled date of 24 November 2025. A new date would be communicated to the Republic and the Accused Persons”.

Although the OSP did not provide a reason for the recent adjournment, it indicated on the X platform on Monday that the new date will be made public.

The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has emphasised that the Red Notice issued by the INTERPOL Commission for former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta remains in force.

According to the OSP, the former Finance Minister wrote to the INTERPOL Commission requesting the removal of the Red Notice placed on him. This information was disclosed by the OSP in a public notice issued on Wednesday, November 19.

Parts of the notice read, “notified Ghanaian authorities that accused Kenneth Nana Yaw Ofori-Atta had applied for from INTERPOL’s Red Notice.” The statement added that the OSP further gave a response to the INTERPOL commission on 22 October 2025.

The OSP’s clarification comes after some media reports claimed that INTERPOL had removed the Red Notice from its website, adding that “the proceedings are still pending and the Commission for the Control of INTERPOL’s Files is still studying the case.”

Ofori-Atta appeared on Interpol's website for “using public office for profit" after being declared wanted by the OSP in June. This was after he failed to appear before the Office of Special Prosecutor (OSP) on Monday, June 2.

His lawyers are said to have formally communicated the development to the OSP and the Human Rights Court, submitting medical reports that detail his current condition and outline scheduled surgical procedures.

The OSP, during an engagement with the press on Tuesday, June 3, noted the failure of the former minister to inform the OSP of changes in medical procedure that were to have happened in March of this year.

"He has failed to show any medical report that shows he is a medical risk . We want him physically, and we insist on it," the OSP said, while noting that Mr Ofori-Atta cannot indicate the mode of investigation. His conduct is totally unacceptable. We will no longer tolerate him," the OSP added.