Former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta is set to return to a United States immigration court on June 15, 2026, for a major hearing that could shape both his residency bid in America and Ghana’s efforts to secure his return to face criminal charges.

Court records indicate that the case has been scheduled for an individual hearing at 1:00 pm before Judge David A. Gardey at the Annandale Immigration Court in Virginia.

The proceeding is expected to be held virtually.

The development comes weeks after Ofori-Atta was released from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody on April 7, following a court order that granted him bail set at $65,000.

His Ghanaian lawyers, Minkah-Premo, Osei-Bonsu, Bruce-Cathline and Partners, confirmed the release at the time, saying he had reunited with his family.

“Mr Ofori-Atta remains fully committed to use due process in defence of his rights as guaranteed under the constitution and laws of the United States,” the legal team said in a statement.

The June hearing is expected to be more substantive than earlier procedural appearances, with the court likely to examine the merits of his immigration case and the arguments surrounding his continued stay in the US.

Ofori-Atta reportedly entered the United States on May 28, 2025, on a visitor’s visa that expired on November 27, 2025.

He remained in the country beyond the authorised period, leading to his arrest by ICE on January 6, 2026, in Washington, D.C.

Authorities in Accra are seeking his return to answer more than 70 criminal charges alongside five others in ongoing corruption-related investigations.

Among the matters reportedly under scrutiny are allegations linked to the Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited contract.

Ofori-Atta’s US-based lawyer, Enayat Qasimi, has argued that his client is seeking a “pathway to residency” in the United States rather than returning to Ghana.

He has also questioned whether the former minister would receive a fair trial if sent back home, describing the legal pursuit against him as politically motivated.

The former minister served under President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo from 2017 until early 2024 and was one of the most influential figures in the previous New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration.

His time in office included Ghana’s 2023 IMF bailout programme, but also intense criticism over the country’s debt crisis and the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme, which affected many bondholders and pensioners.

The June 15 hearing is therefore expected to be closely watched in both Ghana and the United States, as it may determine whether Ofori-Atta remains in America or moves closer to being returned to face trial at home.

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Ken Ofori-Atta's US Immigration Case Set for June 15 Hearing

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