Former MASLOC CEO Sedina Tamakloe-Attionu arrested in US

Former Chief Executive Officer of the Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC), Sedina Tamakloe-Attionu, has reportedly been detained at the Nevada Southern Detention Centre in the United States.

The development was contained in a statement signed by Ghana’s Ambassador to the United States, Emmanuel Victor Smith, dated Thursday, January 15, 2026.

“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.”

Background

Sedina Tamakloe-Attionu was in April 2024, 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.

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 percent 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.