Former MASLOC CEO set for extradition as Ghana cooperates with US authorities

Sedina Tamakloe Attionu is the former CEO of MASLOC

The government, through the Office of the Attorney General, said it was aggressively seeking the extradition of former MASLOC Executive Director Sedinam Tamakloe Attionu, who is expected to serve a 10-year prison sentence.

Deputy Attorney General and Minister of Justice Alfred Tuah-Yeboah confirmed that the former MASLOC chief is in the United States of America despite the court ruling.

He said the US authorities and the Ghanaian government are working closely together to ensure that Sedinam Attionu is returned to Ghana and brought to justice.

“A court in Ghana convicted her some time ago and after the conviction I informed the media that we were going to take steps to extradite her to Ghana. We have started taking those steps in cooperation with our international partners and we know where she is. She could be extradited to Ghana very soon,” Alfred Tuah-Yeboah told Accra-based Citi FM.

“The issue of going through the process is necessary and we are filing all the documentation. If everything goes well, he will definitely return to Ghana to start serving his sentence. He is in the United States of America,” he added.

“When it comes to extradition processes, for example, you have to go through court procedures to get a court order. What we have to do is give the US authorities everything we have and wait for them to finish the procedures. Then she will be brought back to Ghana,” explained Alfred Tuah-Yeboah.

On April 16, 2024, the Accra High Court sentenced former MASLOC Director-General Sedinama Tamakloe Attionu to 10 years imprisonment with hard labour for causing the state financial loss of GH¢90 million.

Subsequently, Daniel Axim, former MASLOC operations director, was sentenced to five years in prison with hard labor.

Both were found guilty of 78 counts of causing financial loss to the state, theft, conspiracy to steal, money laundering and causing loss to public property in violation of public procurement law.

The case began in 2019, and since then the trials of both defendants have been ongoing.

Background

The prosecution charged that the accused misappropriated GH¢3.19 million during their tenure at MASLOC and caused an intentional financial loss of GH¢1.97 million to the state. They were further accused of making unauthorized commitments that resulted in financial liabilities of GH¢61.74 million to the government.

Additionally, the charges included loss of public property amounting to GH¢22.15 million, undue payment of GH¢273,743 and money laundering of GH¢3.7 million.

In a significant development, the court granted the prosecutor’s request to continue the trial in Attionu’s absence on February 24, 2023. The decision came after Attionu was granted permission to travel to the United States in 2021 for treatment but did not return.

Ahead of their trial in absentia, on January 24, 2023, the court ordered former Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) CEO Alex Mould and actor Gavivina Tamakloe to pay GH¢5 million bail to the state due to their inability to produce Attion, for which they acted as sureties.

According to the prosecutor’s office, in 2017 the Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO) conducted an investigation into fraudulent withdrawals of MASLOC funds involving Attionu and Axim.

Investigations revealed that in June 2014, MASLOC invested GH¢150,000 in Obaatanpa Micro-Finance Company Limited, a licensed Tier II microfinance company in Ejura, Ashanti Region.

Attionu then offered Obaatanpa an additional investment of GH¢500,000 which led to a MASLOC Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) cheque for GH¢500,000 being issued in favour of Obaatanpa on 24 July 2014.

Upon receiving the check, Attionu allegedly demanded 24% interest from Obaatanpa. When Obaatanpa refused, Attionu demanded the cash back. Obaatanpa obliged, returning GH¢500,000 in cash to Attionu on 28 August 2014.

Despite acknowledging receipt of the refunded amount in a letter dated 28 August 2014, the investigation revealed that MASLOC had no record of the refund. It was alleged that Attionu misappropriated the GH¢500,000 for its own use.

MOTHER

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