Former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta is set to appear before a United States immigration court on June 15, 2026, in a case that could determine both his residency status in the US and Ghana’s efforts to secure his return to face criminal charges.
Court records show the hearing will take place at 1:00 pm before Judge David A. Gardey at the Annandale Immigration Court, with proceedings expected to be held virtually.
The development follows his release from custody by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on April 7 after being granted bail set at $65,000, a move confirmed by his Ghanaian lawyers, Minkah-Premo Osei-Bonsu Bruce-Cathline and Partners, who said he had reunited with his family and remained committed to due process under US law.
The June hearing is expected to go beyond earlier procedural sessions, with the court likely to examine the merits of his immigration case and arguments surrounding his continued stay in the United States.
Ken Ofori-Atta reportedly entered the US on May 28, 2025, on a visitor’s visa that expired on November 27, 2025, but remained beyond the authorised period, leading to his arrest by ICE on January 6, 2026, in Washington, D.C.
Meanwhile, authorities in Accra are seeking his return to answer more than 70 criminal charges alongside five others in ongoing corruption-related investigations, including matters linked to the Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited contract.
His US-based lawyer, Enayat Qasimi, has argued that his client is pursuing a “pathway to residency” in the United States and has questioned whether he would receive a fair trial if returned to Ghana, describing the case as politically motivated.
Ofori-Atta served under President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo from 2017 until early 2024 and was a central figure in the previous administration, overseeing key policies including Ghana’s 2023 IMF bailout programme, while also facing criticism over the country’s debt crisis and the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme that impacted bondholders and pensioners.
The outcome of the June 15 hearing is expected to be closely watched in both Ghana and the United States, as it may determine whether he remains in America or moves closer to being returned to face trial at home.
