The Attorney-General has moved swiftly to challenge the Court of Appeal’s decision acquitting former Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC) Chief Executive Officer, Sedina Attionu Tamakloe, announcing plans to appeal the ruling at the Supreme Court and seek a stay of its execution.
In a press release issued on Thursday, the Office of the Attorney-General and Ministry of Justice said the Director of Public Prosecutions had been instructed to immediately file a notice of appeal against the Court of Appeal’s judgment, together with an application for a stay of execution pending the determination of the appeal.
The Attorney-General’s response comes only hours after the Court of Appeal overturned Ms Tamakloe’s conviction and cleared her of all charges arising from the long-running MASLOC prosecution.
According to the Attorney-General, the Republic had opposed the appeal by filing written submissions urging the Court of Appeal to dismiss it on the grounds that it lacked merit. Despite those arguments, the appellate court allowed Ms Tamakloe’s appeal and set aside the judgment of the High Court.
The Office maintained that it remains confident in the strength of its case and believes the Supreme Court will reverse the Court of Appeal’s decision.
Ms Tamakloe, who headed MASLOC between 2013 and 2017, was prosecuted on 78 counts involving allegations of conspiracy to steal, stealing, conspiracy to cause financial loss to the State, causing financial loss to the State, causing loss to public property, improper payment of public funds, unauthorised commitments resulting in financial obligations to the Government, money laundering and breaches of the Public Procurement Act.
In April 2024, the Financial Division of the Accra High Court, presided over by Justice Afia Serwah Asare-Botwe, convicted Ms Tamakloe after the trial proceeded in her absence. She was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment following findings that she had failed to return to Ghana after travelling abroad for medical treatment with the court’s permission.
She subsequently appealed the conviction, arguing that the prosecution had failed to establish the offences against her and challenging both the legal and factual basis of the High Court’s judgment.
While the appeal was pending, Ms Tamakloe was extradited from the United States to Ghana in June 2026 to begin serving her sentence. Her extradition was regarded as one of the most significant international criminal cooperation efforts involving Ghana in recent years.
Thursday’s Court of Appeal ruling brought a dramatic turn to the case by overturning the High Court’s judgment and clearing the former MASLOC Chief Executive. However, the Attorney-General’s decision to invoke the Supreme Court’s appellate jurisdiction means the legal battle is far from over.
If the Supreme Court grants the application for a stay of execution and subsequently allows the appeal, it could reverse the Court of Appeal’s decision and restore the High Court’s judgment. Until then, the case remains before the courts as one of Ghana’s most closely watched public corruption prosecutions.
