The Court of Appeal has unanimously acquitted and discharged the former Chief Executive Officer of the Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC), Sedina Tamakloe Attionu, quashing her earlier conviction and 10-year sentence.
In a 94-page judgment, the court held that the trial judge lost sight of the presumption of innocence until proven guilty, and that the prosecution failed to prove the charges against her beyond reasonable doubt. The court also faulted the manner in which the prosecution handled the case.
Full reasoning for the decision is expected to be available by close of day.
Background
Ms Attionu, who headed MASLOC from 2013 to 2016, was convicted in April 2024 on 72 counts, including causing financial loss to the state, stealing, conspiracy, money laundering and procurement-related offences, over the alleged embezzlement of more than six million dollars in public funds. The offences were said to have been committed between 2013 and 2016.
She had left Ghana in 2019 after obtaining court permission to travel abroad for a medical check-up but did not return to continue with her trial. She was extradited from the United States to Ghana on June 9, 2026, the first such extradition between the two countries since 2009.
