Lawyer for former Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC) Chief Executive Officer, Sedina Tamakloe Attionu, has disclosed that his client remains in prison custody and is yet to be officially informed of the Court of Appeal’s decision overturning her conviction and 10-year prison sentence.
Speaking shortly after the appellate court delivered its unanimous ruling on Thursday, lead counsel Enoch Deegbe said he had not yet spoken to his client, who has been in custody since her extradition from the United States in June 2026.
“I’m yet to speak to her, but as we all know, she’s in Cell One, and I’m sure she may have already heard the news. So I’m sure she’ll be happy,” Deegbe said.
The Court of Appeal acquitted and discharged Tamakloe, setting aside the April 16, 2024 judgment of the High Court, which had convicted her in absentia on 78 counts, including stealing, conspiracy to steal, causing financial loss to the state, money laundering and breaches of the Public Procurement Act.
Her legal team filed a Notice of Appeal on May 9, 2024, challenging both the conviction and the legality of the trial. In written submissions filed on February 10, 2026, the defence argued that the charge sheet was fundamentally defective because it failed to provide sufficient particulars of the offences, contrary to Article 19(2)(d) of the 1992 Constitution, which guarantees every accused person the right to be informed in detail of the charges against them.
The defence also relied on previous Supreme Court and Court of Appeal decisions, arguing that defective charges are fatal to a conviction and cannot be remedied by evidence presented during trial.
According to Deegbe, the appeal was built on three principal grounds: the defective charge sheet, the alleged absence of a prima facie case against his client, and challenges to the High Court’s judgment.
“In terms of strategy, we had come essentially on three main grounds. On the fact that the charge sheet itself was defective. Secondly, that there was no prima facie determination against our client, and then, of course, we also attacked the judgment itself,” he explained.
He noted, however, that the Court of Appeal based its ruling solely on the first ground.
“The court only read their conclusion, and they only dwelt on the first leg of our submission, which was the defective charge sheet,” he added.
Tamakloe, who served as MASLOC Chief Executive between November 2013 and January 2017, returned to Ghana on June 9, 2026, after being extradited from the United States. She subsequently began serving her sentence at the Nsawam Medium Security Female Prison before the Court of Appeal overturned her conviction, ruling that the prosecution failed to establish its case beyond reasonable doubt.
Asked whether his client would seek compensation from the state following her acquittal, Deegbe said no decision had yet been made.
“I don’t have such instructions now, but I’m going to sit with my client and then, based on the judgment, we’ll see what steps we can take, if any,” he said.
His remarks follow comments by private legal practitioner Justice Abdullai, who suggested that Tamakloe could be entitled to compensation if she successfully applies, given that the Court of Appeal overturned her conviction on the merits of the case.
Meanwhile, Daniel Axim, Tamakloe’s co-accused, remains on bail while pursuing his own appeal. Axim, who was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment, was granted bail by the Supreme Court on January 14, 2026, in the sum of GH¢500,000 with two sureties after serving nearly two years of his sentence.
Legal observers say the Court of Appeal’s reasoning in Tamakloe’s case could have implications for Axim’s pending appeal, although the courts are yet to determine his case.
