A U.S. immigration judge has ruled that Ghana’s Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) failed to produce a shred of persuasive evidence that former Finance Minister Kenneth Ofori-Atta committed any crime. This is despite a more than 200-page affidavit and over 70 charges filed against him in Ghana.
Immigration Judge David Gardey delivered the finding from the bench on June 15, 2026, at the Annandale Immigration Court, at the close of a contested hearing in which the Department of Homeland Security argued Ofori-Atta should be denied relief in the U.S. because of the pending Ghanaian charges. The judge disagreed, and granted his application for adjustment of status. 3News has since obtained a certified copy of the transcript of proceedings.
The case was decided on a single question: had Ofori-Atta, who ran Ghana’s finance ministry from 2017 to 2024, engaged in criminal wrongdoing tied to a state contract with SML, a firm hired to boost revenue collection from downstream petroleum transactions? The OSP’s affidavit, Exhibit 5 in the case, alleged deep corruption. Ghanaian prosecutors followed up with formal charges which were submitted to the court as Exhibit 6, accusing Ofori-Atta of more than 70 counts of criminal wrongdoing.
Judge Gardey wasn’t persuaded by any of it.
“The court carefully reviewed the Office of the Special Prosecutor’s affidavit and the court finds that the affidavit is lacking in any persuasive proof or evidence that the respondent… has engaged in any criminal wrongdoing as alleged, as minister of finance or otherwise, or that the respondent personally profited from his work as a government official in Ghana.”
He went further, calling the absence of hard evidence itself a meaningful data point:
“The lack of any persuasive evidence indicating any kind of criminal wrongdoing or criminal conspiracy involving the respondent in the OSP’s affidavit is powerful evidence. The respondent has not been credibly charged or credibly been shown to engage in any wrongdoing in Ghana.”
And on the charge sheet itself:
“The OSP affidavit is full of conclusory allegations without any description of credible or reliable facts that would indicate any kind of criminal wrongdoing by the respondent.”
“In contrast, the Respondent has testified credibly and denied that he received anything of value from any of the entities involved in the OSP investigations, either to reward or influence his actions as public official or that he personally profited in any way from his actions as a government official in the country of Ghana”
The ruling also focused on Interpol’s own reversal of an earlier red notice. Ghana had secured the red notice against Ofori-Atta tied to the OSP charges, but Interpol’s Commission for the Control of Files (CCF) deleted it in February 2026, finding it “predominantly political.” Dr. Bromund, an Interpol expert who testified for the defense, walked the court through that finding, which the judge cited as independent corroboration that the case against Ofori-Atta didn’t hold up.
The judge also pointed to a KPMG review commissioned by the government of Ghana, which “found that there were instances where there were inefficiencies or better practices that could have been undertaken but there was no indication of any kind of criminal wrongdoing by the respondent or his staff.”
Extradition Request
The court then commented on what it deemed to be silence from the US Government on the extradition request.
“The court is not surprised, given that the court’s own review of the OSP affidavit does not indicate any persuasive evidence of any criminal wrongdoing by the respondent… the lack of any criminal complaint for purposes of extradition indicates that the Department of Justice also has trouble finding any indication of any credible claims of criminal wrongdoing by the respondent.”
Witch-hunt?
Ken Ofori-Atta’s lawyer, Mr. Qasimi, argued the OSP case was manufactured to target one man rather than uncover a crime, noting the charges were filed the day after the CCF’s initial move to suspend the red notice and that no evidence has been filed in the Ghanaian court since then. He also cited the pending Ghanaian Supreme Court case over whether the OSP has constitutional authority to prosecute independently with Ghana’s own attorney general arguing it doesn’t.
Department of Homeland Security Attorney Mr. Anderson pushed back, telling the court the OSP’s constitutional authority “really isn’t relevant as to whether or not their findings are true or not,” and argued the investigation stemmed from independent journalism.
The judge noted that the evidence showed that a new government took over after December 2024 and Mr.Ofori Atta belong to the previous administration. It concluded as follows;
“Based on the evidence and testimony, the court finds that the respondent has established he was not credibly involved in any kind of criminal wrongdoing”
Status adjustment
In deciding whether to grant Mr. Ofori Atta’s request for adjustment of status, the court noted that he had spent decades schooling in the US and worked at Morgan Stanley and Salomon Brothers. He also noted that Mr.Ofori-Atta who is currently undergoing cancer treatment also has a U.S. citizen son;
“The court finds that the positive equities far outweigh the negative equities such that the court will exercise its discretion and grant the respondent’s request for adjustment of status.”
Addressing Ofori-Atta directly, the Judge stated:
“I know that you’ve been through a difficult period of time, that you were detained based on these criminal charges… your health suffered as a result… you have had your day in court and you have established that you are entitled to adjustment of status.”
The Former Finance Minister expressed appreciation to the court.
This report is based on the official transcript of the June 15, 2026 hearing before the Annandale Immigration Court.
Source: 3news.com