The Red Notice issued by INTERPOL against former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta has been removed from the international police organisation’s public website.
A check by The 1957News on INTERPOL’s wanted persons database on the morning of Wednesday, November 19, 2025, showed no active Red Notice in the name of Mr Ofori-Atta.
The notice had been published following a request from the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) to locate and provisionally arrest the former Minister pending extradition in connection with investigations into the Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited (SML) revenue assurance contracts.
It is unclear what exactly triggered the removal; however, it comes one day after the OSP formally filed criminal charges against Mr Ofori-Atta, SML, and six others at the High Court on Tuesday, November 18, 2025. The charges comprise 78 counts of corruption and corruption-related offences, including causing financial loss to the state and contravention of public procurement laws.
While some media outlets have suggested that the removal aligns with INTERPOL’s routine practice of deleting a Red Notice once formal charges are filed in the requesting country, research into INTERPOL’s standard procedures indicates otherwise.
According to INTERPOL rules, a Red Notice is not automatically cancelled upon the filing of charges. It remains active until the issuing National Central Bureau (in this case Ghana) withdraws it, it expires (normally after five years, though renewable indefinitely), or the Commission for the Control of INTERPOL’s Files (CCF) or the General Secretariat decides to cancel it following a review.
A current search of INTERPOL’s public Red Notices lists only one Ghanaian national, Alex Kwame Fuachie, who remains wanted in connection with a separate case.
Neither the OSP nor INTERPOL has issued an official statement on the removal at the time of publication.
Mr Ofori-Atta, who is believed to be outside the country, has yet to respond publicly to the charges filed against him. The OSP has previously stated that extradition processes remain active and that the office is collaborating with the government and the Attorney-General’s Department on the matter.