Ghanaian official who stole $6M surrendered to authorities after Nevada arrest

The United States extradited a Ghanaian woman to her home country Sunday to serve a 10-year prison sentence after she failed to return to Ghana during her criminal trial following a court-approved trip to the United States for medical treatment, the Justice Department announced.

Sedina Christine Tamakloe Attionu, 60, also known as Sedina Sharon Christine Acolatse, was surrendered to Ghanaian authorities June 8 by the U.S. Marshals Service, according to the department. She had been convicted in Ghana on more than 70 criminal counts including stealing, conspiracy, causing financial loss to the state, money laundering and related offenses.

Authorities said Attionu exploited her position as chief executive officer of Ghana’s Microfinance and Small Loans Centre, known as MASLOC, to steal and misappropriate approximately $6 million. MASLOC is a Ghanaian government agency created to provide low-interest loans to small and medium-scale businesses.

As MASLOC’s CEO from November 2013 to January 2017, Attionu was responsible for the agency’s overall supervision, management and day-to-day administration, court records show. Authorities said she repeatedly abused her position through a variety of schemes, including directly stealing funds remitted to MASLOC, pocketing public money earmarked for outreach, training and disaster relief programs, using public funds to purchase vehicles and cellphones at grossly inflated prices, and making unauthorized payments to herself and a co-conspirator.

Attionu attended the Ghanaian trial through the prosecution’s presentation of witnesses, then obtained the court’s permission to travel to the United States for medical treatment, according to the Justice Department. She never returned. The court issued a warrant for her arrest, ruled her absence unjustified and proceeded with the trial in her absence. On April 16, 2024, she was found guilty on all charges and sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Ghana subsequently requested her extradition, and in December 2025 the United States obtained an arrest warrant based on that request. Attionu was arrested Jan. 6 in Nevada. A U.S. magistrate judge in the District of Nevada certified her extradition on April 9, and the Secretary of State authorized her surrender to Ghanaian authorities.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Oliva of the District of Nevada handled the extradition litigation in coordination with the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs. The U.S. Marshals Service, the FBI’s Legal Attaché Office in Accra and the Ghana Police Service’s INTERPOL National Central Bureau also provided assistance, officials said.