The Criminal Division of the High Court has dismissed an application filed by former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta seeking to quash an arrest warrant issued by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), ruling that the request lacked merit.
The court rejected Mr Ofori-Atta’s argument that the arrest warrant, along with related proceedings such as an Interpol Red Notice alert, had been unlawfully obtained by the OSP.
The ruling is a major boost for the Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyebeng, who in February this year declared Mr Ofori-Atta a “wanted fugitive” after alleging that the former minister had fled the country to avoid accountability.
“OSP declares Kenneth Nana Yaw Ofori-Atta a wanted fugitive. Mr Ofori-Atta, you have two choices: you can return to the jurisdiction voluntarily or face the consequences,” Mr Agyebeng stated during a press conference in Accra on February 12, 2025.
Mr Ofori-Atta had contested the OSP’s actions in court, claiming the procedures leading to the arrest warrant and the subsequent issuance of an Interpol Red Notice were flawed. However, the court found no procedural error or abuse of process in the OSP’s handling of the matter.
The former minister, a central figure in the Akufo-Addo administration, is at the heart of five separate corruption-related investigations launched by the Special Prosecutor.
These include high-profile contracts and transactions such as:
- Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited & GRA Agreement – involving revenue assurance services in the petroleum and minerals sectors.
- ECG and Beijing Technology Contract Termination – probing the abrupt cancellation of a distribution loss reduction project.
- National Cathedral Project – investigating procurement practices and disbursement of funds for the controversial religious infrastructure.
- Procurement of 307 Ambulances – concerning contracts awarded for medical emergency vehicles.
- GRA Tax Refund Account – examining withdrawals and utilisation of public funds from the tax refund account.