Ghana won't support one-way extradition of cybercrime suspects to western countries — Deputy Attorney-General

Deputy Attorney General Justice Srem Sai

Ghana has taken a firm position against any proposed international framework on global fraud that permits extradition to operate in only one direction, with Deputy Attorney General Justice Srem Sai warning that such an arrangement would be unacceptable.

Addressing participants on the opening day of the Global Fraud Summit, he said Ghana’s delegation is pushing for a balanced system that treats all countries fairly in handling cross border fraud cases.

“We will not support an international arrangement on global fraud which establishes a one-way traffic of extraditing cybercrime suspects to Western countries,” he said.

“We will, however, support and be part of an arrangement which has a corresponding mechanism for quicker extradition, surrender of political corruption suspects or recovery of loots back to Africa.”

The summit, convened by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and INTERPOL, is examining the possibility of a coordinated global legal regime to tackle fraud that transcends national borders.

Ghana’s stance comes amid heightened attention on extradition issues involving the country both locally and internationally.

Authorities are currently pursuing the extradition of former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta from the United States to assist with investigations into decisions taken during his time in office.

At the same time, Ghana is processing a request from the United States for the extradition of Frederick Kumi, also known as Abu Trica, who is facing charges including conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

The Gbese District Court is expected to deliver a ruling on March 25 on a preliminary objection in the Abu Trica case.

His legal team, led by Oliver Barker Vormawor, has challenged the legitimacy of the extradition process, arguing that the offences cited are not explicitly covered under the 1931 extradition treaty between Ghana and the United States.

They contend that the agreement does not list wire fraud or money laundering as extraditable offences and insist that Ghana cannot expand the scope of the treaty through subsequent domestic legislation.