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Ghana’s Ambassador to the United States, Victor Smith, has confirmed the arrest and detention of former Chief Executive Officer of the Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC), Sedina Tamakloe-Attionu, in the United States.
In a statement issued on January 15, 2026, the ambassador disclosed that Tamakloe-Attionu was arrested by the U.S. Marshals Service on January 6, 2026, following an extradition request from Ghana.
According to the statement, she is currently being held at the Nevada Southern Detention Centre in Pahrump, Nevada, where she remains in custody pending court proceedings.
“I can confirm that Mrs Sedina Tamakloe-Attionu is currently detained at the Nevada Southern Detention Center in Pahrump, Nevada. My information indicates that she was arrested by U.S. Marshals on January 6, 2026, acting on an extradition request submitted to U.S. authorities in July 2024,” the statement said.
Background to the Case
Sedina Tamakloe-Attionu was sentenced to 10 years in prison on April 16, 2024, after being found guilty of embezzling GH¢3.19 million during her tenure at MASLOC and causing a financial loss of approximately GH¢90 million to the state.
She and a former MASLOC Chief Operating Officer, Daniel Axim, were also convicted of making unauthorised financial commitments that resulted in government liabilities totaling GH¢61.74 million.
Additional charges included the loss of GH¢22.15 million in public funds, improper payments amounting to GH¢273,743, and the laundering of GH¢3.7 million.
In February 2023, the court granted the prosecution permission to proceed with the trial in her absence, after Tamakloe-Attionu failed to return to Ghana following approval to travel to the United States in 2021 for medical treatment.
Earlier, on January 24, 2023, the court ordered former Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) CEO Alex Mould and actress Gavivina Tamakloe to forfeit a GH¢5 million bail bond after they were unable to produce Tamakloe-Attionu, for whom they stood as sureties.
EOCO Findings
Investigations conducted by the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) revealed that in 2017, Tamakloe-Attionu and Axim were involved in fraudulent disbursements of MASLOC funds.
EOCO established that in June 2014, MASLOC invested GH¢150,000 in Obaatanpa Micro-Finance Company Limited, a licensed Tier II microfinance firm in Ejura, Ashanti Region.
Subsequently, an additional GH¢500,000 investment was approved and paid through a MASLOC cheque issued on July 24, 2014.
Investigators revealed that Tamakloe-Attionu later demanded a 24 percent interest rate on the investment. When Obaatanpa declined, she allegedly requested a full cash refund.
Although Obaatanpa returned the GH¢500,000 in cash on August 28, 2014, and Tamakloe-Attionu acknowledged receipt in writing, MASLOC records showed no evidence of the refund. Prosecutors concluded that the funds were misappropriated for personal use.
