High Court ruling that jailed Sedina Tamakloe 10 years had merit — Attorney-General

Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Dr Dominic Ayine, has defended the High Court's conviction of former Chief Executive Officer of the Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC), Sedina Tamakloe-Attionu.

His comments come hours after the Court of Appeal unanimously overturned Ms Tamakloe-Attionu's conviction on Thursday, July 30, ruling that the prosecution failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt.

Addressing the media later in the day, Dr Ayine reiterated that the Office of the Attorney-General would appeal the decision at the Supreme Court and had already directed the Director of Public Prosecutions to file a notice of appeal together with an application for a stay of execution.

Dr Ayine explained that although the appeal against the High Court's decision had been filed before he assumed office, his review of the case convinced him that the conviction should be defended.

He said the Office of the Attorney-General would continue to pursue the matter at the Supreme Court and also study the full judgment of the Court of Appeal to determine the specific grounds of appeal.

The Attorney-General further argued that the decision of a United States court to extradite Ms Tamakloe-Attionu to Ghana supported the view that the prosecution's case had a legal basis.

"I want to emphasize that I believe that the judgment of the High Court had merit, and that the United States District Court that extradited her to Ghana had a basis for making a determination that she was the proper subject for extradition," he stated.

Ms Tamakloe-Attionu was convicted in absentia by the Accra High Court in April 2024 on multiple charges, including causing financial loss to the state, stealing, money laundering and procurement-related offences, and sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment.