Anti-corruption advocate Edem Senanu has dismissed suggestions that former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta should be allowed to engage with the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) remotely over corruption allegations.
His comments come in the wake of renewed efforts by the OSP to bring Mr. Ofori-Atta to account after he failed to appear on June 2, 2025, for a scheduled interrogation.
The OSP has since reclassified him as a wanted person and is seeking an INTERPOL Red Notice to aid in his arrest and extradition.
Speaking on Starr FM, Mr. Senanu criticized what he described as attempts to secure special treatment for the former minister.
He stated that the legal framework cited by Ofori-Atta’s legal team—the Electronic Transactions Act—does not apply to criminal cases.
“I think that the law, the electronic law, they are referring to only deals with civil cases and not criminal cases. And it makes every sense to me that in a criminal case, if we finish the interrogation and find that truly you’re culpable, what’s the value of you being on an electronic platform sitting in another country? That would not help our criminal case. We want to make sure we can then say we are picking you up, report until we have the court cases and there you are sanctioned and go to jail or whatever”
Mr. Ofori-Atta is being investigated for his alleged involvement in questionable financial deals during his time in office between 2017 and 2024.
These include the controversial Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited (SML) revenue assurance contract and financial commitments related to the construction of the National Cathedral.
Initially declared wanted earlier this year, the former minister was temporarily cleared from the OSP’s wanted list following assurances from his lawyers that he would return to Ghana by June 2. That commitment, however, was not honored.
In defense, his legal team cited a sudden deterioration in his health and proposed a virtual engagement instead—an offer the OSP firmly rejected.
Edem Senanu expressed disappointment over the handling of the situation by Ofori-Atta’s legal team, noting inconsistencies in the timeline of the alleged medical condition.
Senanu further emphasized that every Ghanaian, regardless of their status, must face justice under the same rules.
“If you have contributed to the loss of resources, you’ll be sanctioned. So let our former finance minister make himself available for these processes to be done with. The five cases are properly handled and we can move on if there are resources, if there are assets to be retrieved, money that can help us develop. We want to make sure that all those monies are brought back to the case so that Ghana has opportunity to develop.”
The OSP has reiterated that the seriousness of the case requires Ofori-Atta’s in-person cooperation, and that remote interviews would compromise the integrity of the investigation.
