Legal shocker as Interpol drops Red Notice against Ken Ofori-Atta

Former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta is no longer listed as a wanted person on the International Criminal Police Organisation’s (Interpol) Red Notice database, marking a significant turn in a high-profile legal saga that has drawn intense public attention both in Ghana and abroad.

Interpol’s Commission for the Control of Files ruled earlier this month that the Red Notice issued against Ofori-Atta was of a “predominantly political character” and therefore did not comply with the organisation’s neutrality rules. As a result, the alert has been permanently removed from Interpol’s information system, meaning it cannot simply be reissued through the same channels.

The Red Notice had been placed on Ofori-Atta’s record in June 2025 at the request of Ghana’s Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), which was seeking his return to face investigations into alleged corruption and financial misconduct during his tenure as finance minister. The notice had served as an international request to law enforcement agencies to locate and provisionally arrest him pending extradition.

Legal representatives for Ofori-Atta welcomed the Interpol decision, saying the commission’s review found procedural issues with how the Red Notice was registered, and that the alert’s deletion reflects the organisation’s constitutional safeguards against political abuse.

The OSP has maintained that the fight to secure Ofori-Atta’s appearance in Ghanaian courts will continue through established legal and diplomatic channels. While the Interpol listing is no longer active, Ghanaian authorities can still pursue extradition directly with international partners, and domestic criminal charges against the former minister remain before the courts.

Ofori-Atta is currently in custody in the United States, where immigration authorities recently ruled that his legal permission to stay had lapsed. His case has become a complex intersection of law, diplomacy and public controversy, with experts noting that the Interpol decision does not equate to an acquittal or dismiss the underlying legal proceedings against him.