The Court of Appeal has acquitted and discharged former Chief Executive Officer of the Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC), Sedina Tamakloe-Attionu, overturning her conviction and 10-year prison sentence.
In a judgment delivered on Thursday, the appellate court ruled that the prosecution failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt, setting aside the convictions previously entered against the former MASLOC boss by the High Court.
The decision followed an appeal filed by Tamakloe-Attionu challenging both her conviction and the legality of her trial and sentencing in absentia.
Her lawyers argued that the charges against her were fundamentally defective and that the prosecution had failed to present sufficient evidence to establish the offences beyond reasonable doubt.
Tamakloe-Attionu was extradited from the United States and returned to Ghana on June 9, 2026. She began serving her 10-year prison sentence at the Nsawam Medium Security Female Prison on June 24, 2026.
She had travelled to the United States in 2021 with the permission of the High Court to seek medical treatment while her trial was ongoing. However, she did not return to continue the proceedings.
In 2024, the Accra High Court convicted her on multiple counts, including causing financial loss to the state and stealing, over the alleged misappropriation and diversion of state resources during her tenure as MASLOC Chief Executive.
The Court of Appeal has now overturned that ruling, holding that the prosecution did not establish the charges to the standard required in criminal proceedings. As a result, Tamakloe-Attionu has been acquitted and discharged.
