By Francis Kobena Tandoh
The authorities in the United States (U. S.) have arrested and detained former Chief Executive Officer of the Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC), Sedina Tamakloe-Attionu at the Nevada Southern Detention Centre in the United States, according to a statement on Friday.
The statement, signed by Ghana’s Ambassador to the United States, Emmanuel Victor Smith, confirmed the arrest of the former CEO on January 6 this year.
“I can today confirm that Mrs Sedina Tamakloe-Attionu is being detained at the Nevada Southern Detention Center, 2190 East Mesquite Avenue, Pahrump, Nevada,” read the statement.
“My information is that she was detained by US Marshals on January 6th and has since been kept at that detention centre. I am reliably informed that, acting on an extradition request sent to the US Authorities sometime in July 2024, US Marshals arrested Mrs Tamakloe-Attionu and placed her in detention to await her day in court.”
In April 2024, Sedina Tamakloe-Attionu was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment with hard labour after being found guilty on 78 counts, including causing financial loss to the state, stealing, conspiracy to steal, money laundering, and breaches of the Public Procurement Act (PPA).
Her co-accused, former MASLOC Chief Operating Officer Daniel Axim, was also sentenced to five years’ imprisonment with hard labour.
The two were prosecuted for offences committed between 2013 and 2016, involving the misappropriation of funds meant for MASLOC activities. The trial, which began in 2019, saw the state call six witnesses.
Sedina Tamakloe-Attionu was tried in absentia after she absconded while on permission from the court to seek medical treatment abroad. Daniel Axim, however, testified in person but did not call any witnesses.
Among the offences established by the court was the withdrawal of GH¢500,000 as a loan to Obaatampa Savings and Loans Company, which the convicts later demanded to be refunded after the institution declined to agree to a 24 per cent interest rate. Although evidence showed the amount was refunded, it was not reflected in the accounts of MASLOC.
The court also found that over GH¢1.7 million allocated for a sensitisation exercise was misappropriated. MASLOC was expected to pay GH¢20 each to 85,300 beneficiaries, but only GH¢1,300 was used for the intended purpose.
Additionally, only GH¢579,800 out of GH¢1.4 million meant for victims of the Kantamanso inferno was disbursed, with the remainder unlawfully appropriated.
The case further involved inflated procurement costs for vehicles and Samsung mobile phones, with evidence indicating that the amounts paid exceeded prevailing market prices, despite the items being purchased in bulk. Enditem
Source: Ghana Eye Report
Find the statement released by Ghana’s Ambassador to the United States below;
