Enayat Quasimi: A To Z About The Lawyer Behind Ken Ofori-Atta

Ken Ofori-Atta, the former finance minister, is currently a fugitive in the United States. Shortly after his party, the NPP, lost power, the man, a family member of Ghana's former president Akufo-Addo, left the country under the guise of seeking medical care overseas. The Office of the Special Prosecutor invited him to respond to questions regarding many cases of embezzlement and financial irregularities he was involved in while in office.

The former finance minister used a variety of tactics while in America to keep him from traveling to Ghana, including asking the court to remove his fugitive status and corruption allegations, but it didn't work. Ken Ofori-Atta has been in the news once more. They say that desperate people do desperate things. He has chosen Enayat Quasimi, a lawyer, to represent him this time. Who is this lawyer named Enayat Quasimi, I wonder?

Enayat Qasimi is a partner with the American legal firm Whiteford, Taylor & Preston in Washington, D.C., where he holds the position of co-chair of the International Practice. He is now defending former Ghanaian Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta against extradition, claiming that Ofori-Atta is not avoiding justice and that the prosecution against him is politically motivated.

Qasimi has notable experience, having previously held the positions of Senior Legal and Foreign Affairs Advisor to Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Minister of Civil Aviation and Transport. His career includes difficult cross-border legal work, especially in the Middle East, North Africa, and South and Central Asia, as well as high-level government service, venture capital, and private equity.

He has a Bachelor of Arts from Bard College, an MBA from the University of Baltimore, and a Juris Doctor from the University of Maryland. He speaks Pashto, Farsi, and Urdu with ease. Qasimi was born in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, in 1979, and since he is a Shia Muslim and of Hazara ethnicity, he has historically faced persecution in Afghanistan.

Qasimi served as a senior legal and foreign affairs advisor to President Karzai during the constitutional drafting process and later became Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation in 2006, a position he held until his dismissal amid corruption allegations. He was arrested in Kabul in 2011 on embezzlement charges related to his time as minister but was released on bail and banned from travel.

Allegations of mismanagement and abuse of power in an aircraft acquisition agreement for Ariana Afghan Airlines, which allegedly cost the government $9 million, were the basis for the charges. Mismanagement of public finances, not merely misappropriation, is considered embezzlement under Afghan law. Three days later, on March 31, 2011, Afghanistan's Attorney General, Mohammad Ishaq Aloko, ordered his release on bond.

After his government service, he worked as senior vice president and general counsel for a Saudi-based investment banking firm in Riyadh before joining Whiteford, Taylor & Preston in 2007. The Attorney General's Office confirmed his release on April 2, 2011, stating the case remained open. The investigation did not result in a public conviction or exoneration, and Qasimi later relocated to the United States.

He is a member of the Maryland State Bar Association, serves on Whiteford’s Executive Committee, and was appointed to the ICC International Court of Arbitration for Afghanistan in 2017 for a three-year term. He has advised U.S. government contracting firms and international clients on business operations in high-risk regions, including Afghanistan. As of December 2025, Qasimi is actively involved in the legal defense of Ken Ofori-Atta.