Deputy Attorney-General Justice Srem Sai has vehemently expressed concerns about one-sided extradition of cybercrime suspects to Western countries.
On day one of the Global Fraud Summit, he made the point that Ghana will not support an international arrangement on global fraud which establishes a one-way traffic of extraditing cybercrime suspects to Western countries.
“We will, however, support and be part of an arrangement which has a corresponding mechanism for quicker extradition, surrender of political corruption suspects or recovery of loots back to Africa,” he wrote on his X page after his address.
The Summit is under the auspices of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime and INTERPOL. It is to explore the establishment of a global legal framework for fighting cross-border fraud.
It is coming at a time that Ghaha is seeking to extradite former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta from the United States to answer questions relating to decisions he took when in office.
Also, Ghana has received a formal request by authorities in the United States seeking extradition involving Frederick Kumi, popularly known as “Abu Trica,” to face charges including conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
The Gbese District Court has fixed Wednesday, March 25, to deliver its ruling on a preliminary objection raised in the extradition case of Abu Trica.
Lawyers for Abu Trica, led by Oliver Barker Vormawor, have challenged the legal foundation of the extradition process, arguing that the offences cited are not covered under the 1931 extradition treaty between Ghana and the United States.
According to the defence, the treaty does not explicitly list wire fraud or money laundering as extraditable offences, and the provisions relating to conspiracy apply only to specific categories that do not extend to the current charges.
They further maintained that Ghana cannot rely on subsequent domestic laws to broaden the scope of the treaty, insisting that any extradition must strictly comply with the terms originally agreed between the two countries.
