US gave Ken up to November 29 to leave – Dominic Ayine

Attorney General Dr Dominic Ayine has stated that the United States gave former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta until November 29, 2024, to leave before his visa was revoked.

Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile, Dr Ayine explained that public reports had misrepresented the circumstances of Ofori-Atta’s stay in the U.S.

“I want Ghanaians to know that he just didn’t overstay his visa. The visa was actually revoked,” he said. “They gave him up to November 29 of 2024, to leave the United States. He did not.”

He stressed that this was a deliberate action, not an issue of an expired visa. “This is not exactly about immigration. His visa is not expired. It expires in February. No, it was revoked. I am telling you this on authority,” Dr Ayine added.

The Attorney General said the revocation followed sustained engagement between Ghanaian authorities and their U.S. counterparts, connected to an extradition request issued by his office.

“The extradition request that I sent was in respect of the OSP – the SME matter,” he noted. “I have been working with the Americans diligently on him. And the visa was revoked. And that is how come that he lost his immigration status in the United States.”

Dr Ayine indicated that the revocation directly affected Ofori-Atta’s legal standing, leading to his detention by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and ongoing legal processes.

He rejected widespread claims that the former minister had overstayed his visa, emphasizing that the U.S. action was official and formally communicated.

Meanwhile on the same matter, Deputy Attorney-General Dr Justice Srem Sai says Ken Ofori-Atta has repeatedly rejected diplomatic assistance offered by Ghana’s Embassy in the United States after his ICE detention.

Appearing on TV3’s Key Points on Saturday, January 10, Dr Sai disclosed that Ghana’s Ambassador to the United States, Victor Smith, had made several attempts to visit the former finance minister and extend state support, all of which were declined.

“Let me mention this: our mission in the United States, in Washington, the ambassador, Victor Smith, has been taking efforts to go and visit him and offer him the necessary support that a citizen is entitled to in such situations. Unfortunately, he seemed to have refused every effort that such assistance,” Dr Sai said.

He stressed that the government’s approach was driven by duty rather than politics, arguing that Ofori-Atta’s previous status as a senior public official places an obligation on the state to step in during such circumstances.

Ofori-Atta, aged 66, was picked up by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on January 6, 2026, in Washington, DC, following concerns over his immigration status.

Dr Sai explained that the former minister’s U.S. visa had been revoked in June 2025, leaving him without lawful status for several months.

He is currently being held at the Caroline Detention Facility in Bowling Green, Virginia, while immigration processes continue.