Ghana’s former finance minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, has been detained by United States immigration authorities amid allegations of corruption in his home country, his lawyers have confirmed.

Ofori-Atta, who is 66 years old, has remained in the United States since January last year, where he travelled to receive medical care, including surgery for prostate cancer. According to his legal representatives, he had formally applied for an extension of his stay in the country.

In a statement released on Wednesday, the former minister’s lawyers revealed that officials of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement took him into custody on Tuesday over “the status of his current stay in the United States.”

The Ghanaian authorities had declared Ofori-Atta a fugitive in February last year following allegations of corruption, before filing formal charges against him in November.

Despite his detention, his lawyers said his legal team in the United States was already engaging with ICE and expressed confidence that the situation would be resolved promptly. They added that Ofori-Atta was fully cooperating with immigration authorities.

ICE’s online detainee database showed that the former minister is currently being held at a detention facility in the US state of Virginia.

Ofori-Atta served as Ghana’s finance minister from 2017 until 2024 under the administration of former President Nana Akufo-Addo, a tenure characterised by contentious tax reforms and prolonged negotiations with the International Monetary Fund aimed at stabilising Ghana’s economy.