A lawyer representing Ghana’s former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta has said his client is pursuing permanent US residency rather than returning to his home country, where he fears he would not be tried fairly on corruption charges.

Mr Ofori-Atta is being held in an ICE detention facility in Virginia after his arrest by US immigration officials in January for overstaying on a visa.

Enayat Qasimi told Semafor his client has a “pathway to residency” that he would pursue.

He claimed there were “serious questions” about the independence of the Ghanaian judiciary and said that Mr Ofori-Atta had been subjected to a “political witch hunt” that meant he was unlikely to receive a fair trial over alleged financial impropriety while in office, from 2017 to 2024.

The office of Ghana’s attorney general declined to comment.

Ghana has issued an extradition request for Ofori-Atta’s return, which US officials told Semafor had been received.

Mr Ofori-Atta is expected to reappear before the Annandale Immigration Court in Virginia on April 27 after the case concerning his immigration status was adjourned.

He first appeared before the court in January during a virtual hearing presided over by Judge David Gardey, which focused on a bond redetermination and an initial review of the case.

Mr Ofori-Atta joined the hearing from the Caroline Detention Centre, appearing in a black shirt, spectacles and a nose mask.

His visitor visa, which was due to expire in February, was later revoked by US authorities. Court documents indicate he had been instructed to leave the United States by November 29 last year, but failed to comply, leaving him without lawful immigration status.

During the hearing, his lawyers successfully requested that the bond hearing and master calendar proceedings be held behind closed doors, citing the sensitive nature of the issues involved. The judge granted the request.

Meanwhile in Ghana, Mr Ofori-Atta and five others face more than 70 criminal charges linked to several corruption investigations, including allegations that the Strategic Mobilisation Limited (SML) contract caused a financial loss of over GH¢1.4 billion to the state.