Accra, Feb. 14, – The international policing body, INTERPOL, has permanently deleted a Red Notice issued against former Finance Minister Kenneth Ofori-Atta, following a ruling by its internal oversight authority.
Lawyers for Mr Ofori-Atta announced on Saturday that the Commission for the Control of INTERPOL’s Files (CCF) determined the notice was inconsistent with INTERPOL’s regulations.
In a statement signed by Mr Justice Kusi-Minkah Premo, counsel for the former Minister, the defence said the CCF, during its 135th Session on February 4, 2026, concluded that the Red Notice “appears of a predominantly political character” and therefore breached INTERPOL’s governing rules.
The Commission subsequently ordered that the data submitted by the INTERPOL National Central Bureau of Ghana be expunged permanently from INTERPOL’s database.
The development, however, does not end domestic legal proceedings.
The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), which requested the Red Notice, has confirmed the CCF’s decision but indicated that separate efforts to secure Mr Ofori-Atta’s return to Ghana remain ongoing.
According to the OSP, summons issued by the Criminal Division of the High Court in Accra have been transmitted to the United States for service, compelling his appearance to respond to multiple criminal charges.
“Efforts to secure his appearance continue through established legal and diplomatic channels,” the OSP stated.
The Special Prosecutor is pursuing extradition proceedings in connection with an ongoing case in which Mr Ofori-Atta and six others have been arraigned before the High Court in Accra.
The accused persons are alleged to have engaged in a scheme to improperly secure a procurement contract for Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited, resulting in an alleged loss of GH¢1.4 billion to the State.
The deletion of the Red Notice removes the international alert mechanism but does not, in itself, determine the merits of the criminal charges pending before the Ghanaian courts.
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