Former Chief Executive Officer of the Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC), Sedina Tamakloe-Attionu, has been arrested in the United States and is currently in custody following the execution of an extradition request filed by the Government of Ghana.
A press release issued by Victor Emmanuel Smith confirms that she is being held at the Nevada Southern Detention Centre in Pahrump, Nevada.
According to the statement, Tamakloe-Attionu was arrested by U.S. Marshals on January 6, 2026, and has remained in detention since.
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The arrest was carried out in response to an extradition request submitted by Ghanaian authorities in July 2024, signaling formal action by U.S. law enforcement on the matter. She is currently being held pending court proceedings in the United States, where the judicial process surrounding the extradition request is expected to unfold.
While no specific timeline has been provided for the court hearings or the extradition outcome, officials say the development marks a critical stage in the case, which has attracted widespread public interest due to its international legal implications and cooperation between Ghana and the United States.
Sedina Tamakloe-Attionu was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment on April 16, 2024, after being found guilty of embezzling GH¢3.19 million and causing an estimated GH¢90 million financial loss to the state during her tenure at MASLOC.
Her co-accused, Daniel Axim, a former Chief Operating Officer of MASLOC, was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment with hard labour.
Both were convicted on 78 counts, including causing financial loss to the state, theft, conspiracy to steal, money laundering, and breaches of public procurement laws. The trial, which commenced in 2019, saw the prosecution call six witnesses.
Sedina Tamakloe-Attionu was tried in absentia after leaving the country on medical grounds and failing to return, while Axim stood trial in person but called no witnesses in his defence.
The court found that between 2013 and 2016, the convicts misappropriated MASLOC funds, including monies meant for sensitisation programmes and support for victims of the Kantamanso fire disaster. Evidence also showed irregular procurement practices involving the purchase of vehicles and Samsung mobile phones at prices above prevailing market rates.
In another instance, the accused persons withdrew GH¢500,000 from Obaatampa Savings and Loans as a loan, later demanding a refund when the institution declined to offer a 24% interest rate. Although a refund was claimed, the amount was not properly accounted for in MASLOC’s financial records.
Meanwhile, on January 14, 2026, the Supreme Court granted Daniel Axim bail in the sum of GH¢500,000, pending the determination of his appeal. His legal team argued that the appeal process had stalled, despite him having served nearly two years of his five-year sentence
