Ghana’s Ambassador to the United States (US), Victor Emmanuel Smith, has revealed that, the former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC), Sedina Tamakloe-Attionu, has finally been arrested and detained.
Mrs Tamakloe-Attionu jumped bail after she was granted permission to seek medical care abroad, while facing trial under the erstwhile President Akufo-Addo government. She is currently being held at the Nevada Southern Detention Centre in the US.
In a brief statement signed by Victor Smith, on Thursday January 15, he confirmed that she is being detained as 2190 East Mesquite Avenue Pahrump, Nevada.
He indicated that, the trained pharmacist was arrested on Tuesday January 6, the same day wanted former Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, was nabbed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
“My information is that she was detained by US Marshals on January 6th and has been kept at that detention centre. I am reliably informed that acting on as extradition request sent to the US Authorities sometimes in July 2024, US Marshals arrested Mrs Tamakloe-Attionu and placed her in detention to await her day in court”, the statement said.
The arrest was occasioned by an earlier extradition request put in, in 2024 after she was tried in absentia and sentenced 10 years in hard labour after being found guilty on 78 counts.
The former CEO, who was sentenced together with one other, for embezzling GH¢3.19 million and charged with causing financial loss to the state, stealing, conspiracy to steal, money laundering, and breaches of the Public Procurement Act.
Her co-accused, former MASLOC Chief Operating Officer, Daniel Axim, was also sentenced to five years’ imprisonment with hard labour.
The trial, which began in 2019, saw six witnesses called by the state. Sedina Tamakloe-Attionu was tried in absentia as she absconded after obtaining court permission for a medical check-up abroad. Daniel Axim testified in person but did not present any witnesses.
The convictions stem from misappropriation of funds allocated for MASLOC activities between 2013 and 2016. In one instance, the convicts withdrew GH₵500,000 as a loan from Obaatampa Savings and Loans company, demanding a refund when the institution refused to provide a 24% interest rate. Although evidence of the refund was presented, it was not reflected in MASLOC’s accounts.
The duo was also found guilty of misappropriating over GH¢1.7 million allocated for a sensitisation exercise, with only a fraction of the funds used for the intended purpose. Similarly, funds disbursed for victims of a fire incident at Kantamanso were not fully distributed, with a significant portion misappropriated by the accused.
By Gifty Boateng