International legal practitioner Enayat Qasimi, counsel for former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta, has described the ongoing prosecution of his client in the GRA-SML revenue assurance contract case as politically motivated.
Speaking in an interview with the BBC, Mr Qasimi insisted that Ofori-Atta is not evading justice and remains fully committed to cooperating with Ghana’s legal processes.
He argued that investigative authorities, including the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), were fully aware that the former minister was undergoing medical treatment abroad, rendering the issuance of an Interpol Red Notice against him unnecessary and unjustified.
Ken Ofori-Atta is facing 78 counts of corruption alongside seven others over the Strategic Mobilisation Limited (SML) contract with the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA). The charges relate to alleged violations of Section 23(1) of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29) and Section 92(2)(b) of the Public Procurement Act, 2003 (Act 663).
“He is fully committed to complying with the laws of Ghana, and he is fully committed to answering for anything that he did when he was the finance minister. There is absolutely no question about that,” Qasimi emphasised.
The lawyer, however, raised concerns over whether his client’s constitutional rights are being upheld.
“The question is, is he being given the rights that he’s guaranteed under Ghanaian law? He is not, and he has never been,” he stated.
Qasimi further disclosed that the OSP knew all along about Ofori-Atta’s location and health condition in the United States.
“Mr Ofori-Atta was receiving treatment. He was in the US, and they knew all along. There was no purpose for issuing the Red Notice, but they went ahead and issued it,” he added.
In a related development, the Minister for Justice and Attorney General, Dr Dominic Ayine, announced on December 18, 2025, that his office has formally submitted an extradition request to the United States for Ken Ofori-Atta and an alleged accomplice, Ernest Akore.