See the breakdown of funds Sedina Tamakloe embezzled that led to her 10-year sentence

A former Chief Executive Officer of the Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC), Sedina Tamakloe- Attionu has been arrested and detained in the United States.

In a statement issued on January 15, 2026, and signed by the Ghana’s Ambassador to the United States of America, Victor Smith, it was disclosed that Sedina Tamakloe-Attionu was arrested by the US Marshals on January 6, 2026.

The statement further indicated that she is currently being held at the Nevada Southern Detention Centre, located at 2190 East Mesquite Avenue, Pahrump and is awaiting her day in court.

It may be recalled that former MASLOC Chief Executive, Sedina Tamakloe-Attionu, was tried in absentia and sentenced to 10 years in prison in April 2024, alongside Daniel Axim, a former Chief Operating Officer of MASLOC.

Axim was jailed for five years with hard labour for causing financial loss of GH¢90 million to the state, after Tamakloe-Attionu absconded while on court-approved travel abroad for medical reasons and failed to return to the country.

The former MASLOC boss' woes began in 2017 after an investigation by the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) showed fraudulent disbursements of funds during her tenure.

She was accused of embezzling GH¢3.19 million during her tenure at MASLOC and causing a deliberate financial loss of GH¢1.97 million to the state.

Convicted Sedina Tamakloe arrested and detained in the US

She was also accused of making unauthorised commitments, resulting in financial obligations totalling GH¢61.74 million for the government.

Here is a breakdown of all the money she was accused of stealing or misappropriating:

1. Appropriating GH¢500,000 of MASLOC funds for personal use after it was returned from a private microfinance company, Obaatanpa Micro-Finance Company Limited.

2. Withdrawing GH¢1,816,000 in tranches after the MASLOC board approved GH¢1,706,000 of MASLOC funds for a countrywide sensitization.

3. Out of the GH¢1,816,000 for the sensitisation programme, only GH¢1,300 was spent on refreshments for some beneficiaries in the Volta, Greater Accra, and Brong-Ahafo Regions, with no programme taking place in the other regions.

US completing final checks to extradite Sedina Tamakloe to Ghana – AG Ayine

4. Appropriating only GH¢579,800 out of the sum of GH¢1,465,035 meant for the victims of the Kantamanto Market fire disaster in 2013.

5. Procuring 150 Chevy Aveo saloons at a unit cost of GH¢74,495 ($18,883.39) instead of GH¢47,346.93 ($12,009.91), 100 Chevy Sparklite at a unit cost of GH¢65,095.00 ($16,500.63) instead of GH¢35,918.37 ($9,104.77) and 33-seater Isuzu buses at a unit cost of GH¢445,560 ($112,942.96) in 2013 without PPA approval.

6. Procuring 200 pieces of Samsung B310 mobile dual-sim phones under a project called PINCO Project Market Survey at an inflated cost of GH¢93,412 when the market value of the phones was GH¢24,400, in 2016.

7. Authorising ex-gratia amounts of GH¢135,592.33 and GH¢82,218.76 for herself and her deputy respectively.

8. Paying herself and her deputy GH¢28,445.94 and GH¢27,486.62, respectively, purportedly in lieu of leave.

The Attorney General and Minister of Justice, while answering questions in Parliament on Tuesday, November 18, 2025, disclosed that the extradition process to get former Chief Sedina Tamakloe Attionu back to Ghana is at an advanced stage.

Dr Ayine expressed optimism that Sedina Tamakloe, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison, will be brought back to the country to serve her jail time.

AM

Meanwhile, watch as NDC MPs and party leadership pay tribute to late Naser Toure Mahama