Former Chief Executive Officer of the Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC), Sedina Tamakloe Attionu, has returned to Ghana after being extradited from the United States to serve a 10-year prison sentence imposed by the Accra High Court.
She arrived at the Accra International Airport on Tuesday, June 9, aboard United Airlines flight UA 996, which landed at about 9:01 a.m. after departing Washington Dulles International Airport in the United States.
Sources familiar with the process confirmed that security officials received her upon arrival and immediately took her into custody. She is currently undergoing standard administrative procedures, including debriefing and medical examinations, before being transferred to prison authorities.
Attionu’s return follows years of legal and diplomatic efforts by the Government of Ghana to secure her extradition after she failed to return to the country following a medical trip to the United States.
In 2024, the Accra High Court convicted her in absentia on charges including causing financial loss to the state and stealing. The court sentenced her to 10 years in prison after finding that actions taken during her tenure as MASLOC Chief Executive between 2013 and 2016 resulted in a financial loss of nearly GH¢90 million to the state.
The case stemmed from allegations of misappropriation and the diversion of state resources during her administration of the government-backed microfinance institution.
Attionu had been granted permission by the High Court in 2021 to travel to the United States for medical treatment while her trial was ongoing. However, she did not return to continue participating in the proceedings, leading the court to continue the trial in her absence.
Following her conviction, Ghanaian authorities intensified efforts to bring her back to serve her sentence. In 2025, the government formally submitted an extradition request to the United States.
The request was later reviewed by a US District Court in Nevada, which certified the extradition after examining the supporting legal documents presented by Ghanaian authorities.
Her return is seen as a major milestone in one of Ghana’s most prominent corruption-related cases involving a former public official. Authorities are expected to complete the necessary procedures before handing her over to the Ghana Prisons Service to begin serving her sentence.
The case has attracted significant public attention over the years and has often been cited by anti-corruption advocates as a test of Ghana’s ability to pursue and secure the return of convicted public officials who leave the country while facing criminal proceedings.
Her extradition is also being viewed as a notable example of international cooperation between Ghana and the United States in the enforcement of criminal judgments.
