Former MASLOC CEO Sedina Tamakloe-Attionu Arrested in U.S. as Extradition Process Begins
By: Ebenezer Adu-Gyamfi / Emmanuel Ayiku for GhanaianNewsCanada 16/1/2026
Sedina Tamakloe-Attionu, the former Chief Executive Officer of Ghana’s Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC), has been arrested in the United States and is currently being held by American authorities as part of an ongoing extradition request from the Government of Ghana.
The Ghana Embassy in Washington, D.C. confirmed that Tamakloe-Attionu was taken into custody by U.S. Marshals on January 6, 2026. According to the embassy statement, her detention follows a formal extradition request submitted to U.S. authorities in July 2024. She is being held at the Nevada Southern Detention Center in Pahrump, Nevada, and will appear before a U.S. court as part of the extradition proceedings.
Ghana’s Ambassador to the United States, Victor Emmanuel Smith, confirmed her arrest in a communication dated January 15, 2026, adding that she will remain in custody as the U.S. legal process unfolds.
Tamakloe-Attionu was convicted in absentia in April 2024 by an Accra High Court on 78 counts, including causing financial loss to the state, stealing, conspiracy to steal, money laundering, and breaches of the Public Procurement Act. The case involved alleged misappropriation of funds during her tenure as MASLOC boss between 2013 and 2016. She was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment with hard labour but left Ghana on medical grounds and did not return to face trial.
Her co-accused in the case, Daniel Axim, a former MASLOC Chief Operating Officer, was also convicted and sentenced to five years in prison with hard labour.
The extradition request from Ghana aims to have Tamakloe-Attionu returned to face her sentence and any further legal proceedings. She is expected to appear before a U.S. judge on January 21, 2026, where a decision will be made on whether the extradition process will proceed. This appearance will give her legal team an opportunity to present arguments against extradition if they choose to do so.
The development marks a significant step in Ghana’s efforts to hold public officials accountable for corruption and financial mismanagement, particularly in high-profile cases involving senior government figures.
As of now, Tamakloe-Attionu remains in U.S. custody, and further legal proceedings in both the United States and Ghana lie ahead.
