The Embassy of Ghana in the United States has officially confirmed the arrest and detention of Mrs. Sedina Tamakloe-Attionu by U.S. authorities, according to a statement issued on January 15, 2026.
In a statement addressed to media houses and signed by Victor Emmanuel Smith, Ghana’s Ambassador to the United States, the Embassy stated: “I can today confirm that Mrs. Sedina Tamakloe-Attionu is being detained at the Nevada Southern Detention Center.” The facility is located at 2190 East Mesquite Avenue, Pahrump, Nevada.
The statement further disclosed that Mrs. Tamakloe-Attionu was arrested earlier this month. “My information is that she was detained by U.S. Marshals on January 6 and has since been kept at that detention center,” the statement noted.
According to the Embassy, the arrest followed formal extradition proceedings initiated by Ghanaian authorities. The statement explained that the U.S. Marshals acted “on an extradition request sent to the U.S. authorities sometime in July 2024.” Mrs. Tamakloe-Attionu, the Embassy added, has been placed in detention “to await her day in court.”
No further details were provided regarding the specific charges or the timeline for court proceedings. The Embassy also did not indicate whether Mrs. Tamakloe-Attionu has appeared before a U.S. court since her detention.
Mrs. Tamakloe-Attionu is a former Chief Executive Officer of the Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC), a Ghanaian state agency responsible for providing microcredit to small businesses. She served in that role between 2013 and 2016 and was later accused of misappropriating public funds intended for microfinance and enterprise support programmes.
In April 2024, an Accra High Court convicted her in absentia on 78 charges, including causing financial loss to the state, stealing, conspiracy to steal, money laundering, and breaches of the Public Procurement Act. The court estimated the financial loss at about GH¢90 million and sentenced her to 10 years’ imprisonment with hard labour. Her co-accused, former MASLOC Chief Operating Officer Daniel Axim, was sentenced to five years in prison.
Mrs. Tamakloe-Attionu was not present to begin serving her sentence, having travelled abroad for medical treatment and failed to return. A formal arrest warrant was subsequently issued for her apprehension.
Following her conviction, Ghanaian authorities initiated extradition proceedings to secure her return from the United States. A formal request for her extradition was submitted to U.S. authorities in July 2024.
