U.S. immigration authorities have detained former Ghanaian Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta over questions relating to his visa status, his legal team has confirmed.

In a statement issued on the matter, the lawyers said Mr Ofori-Atta is currently cooperating fully with officials of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) while efforts are underway to resolve the situation.

According to the statement, Mr Ofori-Atta has a pending petition for adjustment of status, a lawful immigration process that allows an individual to remain in the United States beyond the expiration of an initial visa while their status is being regularised. His legal team described the process as routine under U.S. immigration law and expressed confidence that the issue would be resolved without delay.

The detention comes amid significant health challenges that have kept the former minister in the United States since January 2025. Mr Ofori-Atta has been receiving medical treatment after being diagnosed with prostate cancer earlier this year.

Medical sources say the diagnosis was confirmed in March 2025 following MRI scans and a biopsy that indicated cancer progression. He subsequently underwent a radical prostatectomy on Friday, June 13, at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Doctors reportedly described the surgery as a necessary and urgent intervention after tests revealed an increased spread of cancer cells within the prostate.

Family sources say Mr Ofori-Atta had been under close medical supervision in the United States for several weeks prior to the surgery.

In addition to the cancer diagnosis, the former finance minister is also managing a post-COVID Multi-System Inflammatory Response Syndrome, a condition first identified in February 2021, which has required ongoing medical monitoring.

Mr Ofori-Atta served as Ghana’s Minister for Finance from 2017 to 2023, steering the economy through the COVID-19 pandemic, subsequent debt distress and negotiations with the International Monetary Fund.

His stay in the United States has also coincided with ongoing legal proceedings in Ghana. In November 2025, the Office of the Special Prosecutor charged him and others with corruption and related offences. The case is currently at the case management conference stage.

His legal team stressed that Mr Ofori-Atta remains a law-abiding individual and is engaging constructively with U.S. immigration authorities to regularise his status while continuing his medical recovery.