Ghana's ex-finance minister declared a fugitive
Ofori-Atta had left Ghana to evade investigations, and all necessary steps would be taken to bring him back, Special Prosecutor Kissi Agyabeng said.
Ofori-Atta has been accused of causing financial losses to the state, including over a controversial national cathedral, which remains a hole in the ground despite the alleged spending of $58m (£46.6m) of government money.
Ofori-Atta has not commented on the allegations. According to Agyabeng, the ex-minister's lawyers said he was out of the country for medical reasons.
Agyabeng told a press conference that Ofori-Atta, 66, failed to attend an interview with the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), despite being told he was a suspect.
Ofori-Atta left Ghana in early January, and had no intention of "willingly" returning, Agyabeng said.
The OSP was, therefore, declaring him a "wanted person".
"He is a fugitive from justice," the special prosecutor added.
Ofori-Atta was finance minister from January 2017 to February 2024, when the New Patriotic Party (NPP) was in power.
It lost elections in December to the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
President John Mahama, who was inaugurated in January, went on to establish an investigative committee known as Operation Recover All Loot.
The committee has received over 200 complaints of corruption, amounting to more than $20bn in recoverable funds.
Mahama has directed the attorney general and minister of justice to launch investigations into these allegations, stating that Ghana will no longer be a safe haven for corruption.
However, some Ghanaians have criticised him for discontinuing cases against his former allies on trial.
The Maths Queen with a quantum mission to mentor girls
Why some Ghanaians are fighting in insurgency-hit Burkina Faso
Ghana wants more for its cashews, but it's a tough nut to crack
Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent.
Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica
Africa Daily
Focus on Africa
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
3 hours ago
- New York Post
Aussie running for Boston suburb mayor says there's ‘no chance' he'll change his name despite Jeffrey Epstein comparison
He's not name-dropping. An Australian man named Geoffrey Epstein is running for mayor in a Massachusetts town — and he rejects any comparisons to the convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, according to a report. Epstein, who goes by 'Geoff,' said he wasn't afraid of the overt homophonic resemblance his name bears to that of the notorious, dead sex trafficker. Advertisement 3 Geoffrey Epstein attends the Framingham Democrats summer barbecue on July 27, 2025. Geoff Epstein for Mayor/Facebook 'That other one is a dead American and I am a live Aussie,' Epstein, who is seeking office in Framingham, a Boston suburb, told HuffPost Tuesday. 'But, of course, there is all the horrifying criminality and darkness of the other guy,' the aspiring pol said, adding, 'I have lived my life trying to be straight up and improving things.' Advertisement Epstein said there was 'no way' he would change his name to avoid association with the degenerate criminal, who officials said committed suicide in a Manhattan lockup in 2019. 'I like my name and I am proud of my family,' he said, adding his family proudly fought in World War II. The Aussie, who noted he was born on September 11, further stands apart from his doppel-namer by way of holding a Ph.D. in theoretical physics, whereas Jeffrey Epstein dropped out of Cooper Union before attaining a degree. He is not the first politician to fight off associations with the infamous sex trafficker. Advertisement 3 Epstein, who goes by 'Geoff,' said he wasn't afraid of the overt homophonic resemblance his name bears to that of the notorious, dead sex trafficker. Geoff Epstein for Mayor/Facebook 3 Convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in a mugshot after his arrest in 2019. Kypros New York State Assemblyman Harvey Epstein was mocked on Saturday Night Live last year for having a name that recalled not only Jeffrey Epstein, but convicted rapist Harvey Weinstein. Advertisement 'It was a total surprise,' Epstein told The Post the day after the show aired. 'Imagine if you were watching SNL and there was a parody about you.' 'Your name is your name. It is what it is. Both [Jeffrey Epstein and Harvey Weinstein] are horrific,' the pol added.
New York Post
13 hours ago
- New York Post
Maniac was ‘hell-bent' on getting to beloved NYC deli worker despite mom's screams: witness
A maniac who stabbed a beloved Brooklyn deli worker appeared 'hell-bent' after an earlier scuffle with the frightened father — despite his own mother's screams for him to stop, witnesses said Saturday. The fight at the NY Deli & Mini Market Corp. at the corner of Hegeman and Van Siclen avenues in East New York broke out just after 3 p.m. Friday, cops said. The worker, Diego Sandoval Nava, was rushed to Brookdale University Hospital Medical Center where the father of three, including a nerwborn, died, cops said. The unhinged knifeman fled the scene and has not been captured, an NYPD spokesman said. Ivor Dowridge saw some of the attack when he went into the store to use the ATM and said three workers were trying to hold the berserk attacker back. It is unclear what led to the fight. 'He was hell-bent on going after the guy,' Dowridge, 63, said. 'The victim looks scared. I saw his face, I saw it in his eyes.' The maniac put his hands down and walked out of the store, but returned a short time later with a knife, he said. 'When I was leaving the store, I saw him running back in,' Dowridge said. 'I saw him going in his pocket. 'His mom was outside shouting at him as he was going back, 'What the f–k are you doing? What the hell are you doing?' ' Dowridge, a union worker who lives in the area, knows the stabber, who was out of work, has two kids and gets help from his mother, he told The Post. 'He just had to walk away and nothing like this would've happened,' he said. 'You stabbed somebody, your life is over.' A 45-year-old woman who works nearby said Nava always made her breakfast. 'Once you became a regular, he knew what you wanted and you didn't have to tell him,' the woman, who asked to remain anonymous, said. 4 Diego Sandoval-Nava was the bodega worker stabbed at New York Deli and Mini Market at the corner of Hegeman and Van Siclen avenues in East New York just after 3 p.m. Friday. Diego Sandoval-Nava / Facebook 'He was very humble, did not speak much, just did his job – very nice guy,' she said. 'It's heartbreaking. I bought a candle to put outside the store in his memory.' Republican mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa, who was at the deli, called working at a bodega 'the most dangerous job in the city.' 'It goes against the grain of what we've been told by both Mayor Adams and (Police Commissioner) Jessica Tisch: It's a perception of crime,' he said. 'Well, if you happen to be behind a bodega counter, you know it ain't no perception. It's reality every day.' 4 The stabbing was preceeded by a dispute inside the bodega, cops said. ABC 7 4 It wasn't clear what the fight was about but the irate man returned to the deli and appeared 'hell bent' to get Nava, a witness who knew both men said. Diego Sandoval-Nava / Facebook
Chicago Tribune
14 hours ago
- Chicago Tribune
Officials scour mountainous area of Montana for ex-US soldier suspected of killing 4 in bar shooting
Authorities were scouring a mountainous area of western Montana on Saturday for a military veteran who they say opened fire at a bar, killing four people. Michael Paul Brown, 45, fled The Owl Bar in the small town of Anaconda in a white pickup truck but ditched it at some point, said Lee Johnson, administrator of the Montana Division of Criminal Investigation, which is overseeing the case. He urged residents late Friday to stay at home and remain on high alert. On Saturday, authorities released a photo of the suspect, barefoot and shirtless, walking down what appeared to be a flight of outdoor concrete steps. The photo showed Brown, wearing black shorts, fleeing after the shooting Friday, according to the Division of Criminal Investigation. 'While law enforcement has not received reports of Brown harming any other individuals, he is believed to be armed, and he is extremely dangerous,' Johnson said. Anaconda-Deer Lodge Police Chief Bill Sather said Saturday that businesses in the area could open, but he urged caution. Authorities said they would release the names of the victims once all of their families have been notified. 'This is a small tight-knit community that has been harmed by the heinous actions of one individual who does not represent what this community or Montanans stand for,' Johnson said. Anaconda, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) northwest of Butte, is hemmed in by mountains. The town of about 9,000 people was founded by copper barons who profited off nearby mines in the late 1800s. A smelter stack that is no longer operational looms over the valley. Brown lived next door to The Owl Bar, said owner David Gwerder, who wasn't there during the shooting Friday morning. Gwerder told The Associated Press that the bartender and three patrons were killed and didn't think anyone else was inside. He also said he wasn't aware of any conflicts between Brown and any of the victims. 'He knew everybody that was in that bar. I guarantee you that,' Gwerder said. 'He didn't have any running dispute with any of them. I just think he snapped.' Brown served in the U.S. Army as an armor crewman from 2001 to 2005 and deployed to Iraq from early 2004 until March 2005, said Lt. Col. Ruth Castro, an Army spokesperson. Brown was in the Montana National Guard from 2006 to March 2009, Castro said. He left military service in the rank of sergeant. Brown's niece, Clare Boyle, told The Associated Press on Friday that her uncle has struggled with mental illness for years and that she and her other family members repeatedly sought help. 'This isn't just a drunk/high man going wild,' she wrote in a Facebook message. 'It's a sick man who doesn't know who he is sometimes and frequently doesn't know where or when he is either.' With no sign of Brown in the white pickup or his home, authorities converged on the Stumptown Road area west of Anaconda by ground and air Friday, locking it down so no one was allowed in or out. Authorities had lifted the lockdown by Saturday. A helicopter hovered over a nearby mountainside as officers moved among the trees, said Randy Clark, a retired police officer who lives there. The search continued Saturday morning, said Chase Scheuer, a spokesperson for Montana's Division of Criminal Investigation. As reports of the shooting spread through town earlier Friday, business owners locked their doors and sheltered inside with customers. The owner of the Firefly Café in Anaconda said she locked up her business after a friend alerted her to the shooting.
