Sedina Tamakloe-Attionu, former Chief Executive Officer of the Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC), is reported to be in custody at the Nevada Southern Detention Centre in the United States. The disclosure was made in a statement issued by Ghana’s Ambassador to the U.S., Emmanuel Victor Smith, dated Thursday, January 15, 2026. According to the statement, Tamakloe-Attionu was apprehended by U.S. Marshals on January 6, 2026, and has since remained at the facility awaiting court proceedings.
“My information is that she was detained by U.S. Marshals on January 6th and has since been kept at that detention centre,” the Ambassador confirmed. He further explained that the arrest followed an extradition request submitted by Ghanaian authorities to the United States in July 2024.
“I am reliably informed that, acting on an extradition request sent to the U.S. authorities sometime in July 2024, U.S. Marshals arrested Madam Tamakloe-Attionu and placed her in detention to await her day in court,” the statement added.
Background
In April 2024, Sedina Tamakloe-Attionu was handed a 10-year prison sentence with hard labour after being convicted on 78 charges, including causing financial loss to the state, theft, conspiracy to steal, money laundering, and violations of the Public Procurement Act. Her co-accused, former MASLOC Chief Operating Officer Daniel Axim, received a five-year sentence with hard labour.
The prosecution, which covered offences committed between 2013 and 2016 involving the misappropriation of MASLOC funds, commenced in 2019 and featured testimony from six state witnesses. Sedina Tamakloe-Attionu was tried in absentia after she absconded while on permission from the court to seek medical treatment abroad. Daniel Axim, however, testified in person but did not call any witnesses.
Among the offences established by the court was the withdrawal of GH¢500,000 as a loan to Obaatampa Savings and Loans Company, which the convicts later demanded to be refunded after the institution declined to agree to a 24% interest rate. Although evidence showed the amount was refunded, it was not reflected in the accounts of MASLOC.
The court also found that over GH¢1.7 million allocated for a sensitisation exercise was misappropriated. MASLOC was expected to pay GH¢20 each to 85,300 beneficiaries, but only GH¢1,300 was used for the intended purpose. Additionally, only GH¢579,800 out of GH¢1.4 million meant for victims of the Kantamanso inferno was disbursed, with the remainder unlawfully appropriated.
The case further involved inflated procurement costs for vehicles and Samsung mobile phones, with evidence indicating that the amounts paid exceeded prevailing market prices, despite the items being purchased in bulk.
Source: William Narh
