Accra: Former Chief Executive Officer of the Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC), Sedina Tamakloe Attionu, has arrived in Ghana following her extradition from the United States to serve a 10-year prison sentence. Attionu, who was sentenced in absentia in April 2024, was handed over to the Ghana Police Service and the Ghana Immigration Service upon her arrival at Accra International Airport on Tuesday, June 9, 2026.
According to Ghana Web, Attionu's legal troubles began in 2017 after an investigation by the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) uncovered fraudulent disbursements of funds during her tenure as the head of MASLOC. The former MASLOC chief was convicted alongside Daniel Axim, the former Chief Operating Officer, who received a five-year sentence with hard labour for causing a financial loss of GHS90 million to the state.
Attionu faced multiple allegations, including embezzling GHS3.19 million and causing a deliberate financial loss of GHS1.97 million. Furthermore, she was accused of making unauthorised financial commitments resulting in obligations totalling GHS61.74 million for the government. A breakdown of the misappropriated funds includes appropriating GHS500,000 for personal use, withdrawing GHS1,816,000 for a sensitisation programme that never materialised, and misappropriating funds meant for victims of the Kantamanto Market fire disaster.
The legal saga extends beyond her conviction, as Attionu has filed an appeal at the Accra High Court, challenging her 10-year sentence. Filed on February 10, 2026, the appeal contests her conviction on charges including conspiracy to steal, causing financial loss to the state, money laundering, and breach of the Public Procurement Act.
Attionu's lawyers argue that the charges were not adequately detailed, violating Article 19(2)(d) of the 1992 Constitution, which ensures an accused person's right to be informed of the nature of the charges against them. They also cite previous court decisions suggesting that such defective particulars of offences could render a conviction unsafe.
As Attionu begins her sentence, the outcome of her appeal remains uncertain, leaving open the question of whether she will succeed in overturning her conviction and regain her freedom.