The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has said it is nearing completion of its investigations into former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta’s case and will soon forward the docket to the Attorney General’s office to enable the commencement of extradition proceedings.
This follows concerns raised by the Deputy Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Dr. Justice Srem Sai, that his office has yet to receive the necessary dockets from the OSP to initiate the extradition process.
Dr. Srem Sai explained that while his office is the only authority mandated to make an extradition request, the OSP had delayed in submitting the needed investigative files.
Reacting to the matter in a social media post on Monday, October 20, the Director of Strategy, Research & Communication at the OSP, Samuel Appiah Darko, said there has been no misunderstanding between the two institutions.
“There is no bad blood between the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) and the Attorney-General (AG), nor is there any contention over the case docket. The issue at hand is primarily one of timing. The OSP is nearing completion of its work on some of the cases involving Mr. Kenneth Ofori-Atta and will, in due course, submit the necessary information required to complete the extradition process to the AG,” he said.
He stressed that the OSP was finalising its work and expected to hand over the full docket to the Attorney General within the week.
“I am aware that the Special Prosecutor is expected to complete and transmit the necessary information to the AG this week to facilitate the extradition process,” he stressed.
Mr. Ofori-Atta, who is currently said to be receiving medical treatment abroad, was declared wanted by the OSP earlier this year after failing to honour multiple invitations for questioning over alleged corruption-related offences.
The OSP later requested an INTERPOL Red Notice for his arrest in connection with investigations into alleged abuse of public office for profit, particularly concerning the National Cathedral project and the SML revenue assurance contract.
