Former Chief Executive Officer of the Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC), Sedina Tamakloe-Attionu, has reportedly been arrested and detained in the United States following an extradition request by Ghanaian authorities.
According to a statement signed by Ghana’s Ambassador to the United States, Emmanuel Victor Smith, and dated Thursday, January 15, 2026, Mrs. Tamakloe-Attionu was arrested by U.S. Marshals on January 6, 2026, and is currently being held at the Nevada Southern Detention Centre.
“My information is that she was detained by U.S. Marshals on January 6th and has since been kept at that detention centre. I am reliably informed that acting on an extradition request sent to the U.S. authorities sometime in July 2024, U.S. Marshals arrested Mrs. Tamakloe-Attionu and placed her in detention to await her day in court,” the statement said.
The arrest follows her conviction in Ghana in April 2024, where she was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment with hard labour after being found guilty on 78 counts, including 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 convicted and sentenced to five years’ imprisonment with hard labour.
The offences, which occurred between 2013 and 2016, involved the misappropriation of funds allocated for MASLOC programmes. The trial, which began in 2019, saw the state call six witnesses.
Mrs. Tamakloe-Attionu was tried in absentia after absconding while on court-approved travel to seek medical treatment abroad. Daniel Axim, however, stood trial in person but did not call any witnesses.
Among the findings of the court was the withdrawal of GH¢500,000 as a loan to Obaatampa Savings and Loans Company. Although the amount was later refunded after the institution declined a proposed 24 percent interest rate, the funds were not reflected in MASLOC’s accounts.
The court also established that over GH¢1.7 million allocated for a sensitisation exercise was misappropriated. While MASLOC was expected to pay GH¢20 each to 85,300 beneficiaries, only GH¢1,300 was used for its intended purpose.
Additionally, out of GH¢1.4 million meant to support victims of the Kantamanso inferno, only GH¢579,800 was disbursed, with the remaining funds unlawfully appropriated.
The case further uncovered inflated procurement costs involving vehicles and Samsung mobile phones, with evidence showing that payments exceeded prevailing market prices despite bulk purchases.
Mrs. Tamakloe-Attionu is expected to face extradition proceedings as U.S. authorities process Ghana’s request for her return to serve her sentence.
