Private legal practitioner Eric Offei has cautioned the public against misinterpreting the detention of former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as a criminal conviction.
He clarified that while Ofori-Atta is wanted in Ghana over alleged corruption cases related to the GH¢1.4 billion SML contract saga, his current legal battle in Virginia is strictly about his immigration status.
Speaking on the Atlantic Wave, Lawyer Offei discussed the legal implications of the detention, emphasizing that being held for a visa violation is an administrative process, rather than a verdict on his corruption charges pending in Ghana.
“You are issued a visa to stay within a certain period of time, and you have gone beyond that period based on what is in your visa, one way or the other, you are seen as an immigrant… so the status of Mr. Ken Ofori-Atta in the U.S does not make him a criminal. It is a pure civil matter.”
Despite the public interest in the SML investigation, Lawyer Offei urged Ghanaians to manage their expectations.
He clarifies that while the Attorney General’s office is working on a formal extradition, the current ICE proceedings are independent of the criminal charges pending in Accra.
He emphasized that legal action regarding his corruption charges will only begin once the Attorney General’s formal extradition request materializes.
“I want to diffuse that notion; this is part of the extradition. What he is going through now is purely a civil matter, and it has nothing to do with the charges preferred against him in Ghana, pending his extradition to face those charges. So as and when the extradition request made by the Office of the Attorney General materializes, then definitely we will take it from there.”
