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Former Chief Executive Officer of the Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC), Sedina Tamakloe Attionu, has returned to Ghana following her extradition from the United States to serve a 10-year prison sentence imposed by the Accra High Court.
Attionu arrived at the Kotoka International Airport on Tuesday, June 9, aboard United Airlines flight UA 996, which landed at approximately 9:01 a.m. The flight departed Washington Dulles International Airport in the United States on Monday.
Sources familiar with the process confirmed that she was met by security officials upon arrival and taken into custody. She is currently undergoing routine debriefing and medical examinations before being transferred to begin serving her sentence.
Her return follows a prolonged extradition process initiated by the Government of Ghana after she failed to return to the country following a medical trip to the United States.
In 2024, the Accra High Court convicted Attionu in absentia and sentenced her to 10 years’ imprisonment after finding her guilty of multiple offences, including causing financial loss to the state and stealing. The court determined that her actions during her tenure as MASLOC Chief Executive between 2013 and 2016 resulted in a financial loss of nearly GH¢90 million to the state.
The conviction followed years of legal proceedings involving allegations of misappropriation and diversion of state resources at the government-funded microfinance institution.
Attionu had been granted permission by the High Court in 2021 to travel to the United States for medical treatment while her trial was ongoing. However, she failed to return to Ghana to continue participating in the proceedings, leading the court to continue the trial in her absence.
Following her conviction and sentencing, Ghanaian authorities intensified efforts to secure her return. In 2025, the Government of Ghana formally submitted an extradition request to the United States.
The request was subsequently reviewed by a U.S. District Court in Nevada. After examining the application and supporting legal documentation provided by Ghanaian authorities, the court approved the extradition request, paving the way for her return to Ghana.
Her arrival marks a significant milestone in one of Ghana’s most prominent corruption-related prosecutions involving a former public official.
Authorities are expected to complete the necessary administrative, security and medical procedures before transferring her to the custody of the Ghana Prisons Service to begin serving her sentence.
While officials have yet to indicate whether any further legal proceedings will arise from her return, her extradition and incarceration are expected to bring closure to a case that has remained in the public spotlight for several years.
The case has been widely cited by anti-corruption advocates as a major test of Ghana’s ability to pursue and secure the return of convicted public officials who leave the country while facing criminal prosecution. Attionu’s extradition is therefore being viewed as a landmark example of international cooperation between Ghanaian and U.S. authorities in the enforcement of criminal judgments.