Full Judgment: Why Court of Appeal acquitted and discharged Ex-MASLOC CEO of the 10-year jail sentence
The appellate court held that the prosecution failed to prove the charges against her beyond reasonable doubt. In its 94-page judgment, the court also faulted the trial judge’s approach to the case, holding that the presumption of innocence had not been properly applied.
Former MASLOC Chief Executive Officer Sedina Christine Tamakloe-Attionu has been acquitted and discharged by the Court of Appeal, bringing an end to her 2024 conviction and 10-year prison sentence.
The Court of Appeal, in a unanimous decision delivered on Thursday, July 30, 2026, quashed the High Court judgment that had found her guilty in the MASLOC financial crime case.
The appellate court held that the prosecution failed to prove the charges against her beyond reasonable doubt.
In its 94-page judgment, the court also faulted the trial judge’s approach to the case, holding that the presumption of innocence had not been properly applied.
The court further criticised aspects of the prosecution’s handling of the matter.
Full reasons for the decision are expected to be made available later in the day.
Mrs Tamakloe-Attionu served as Chief Executive Officer of the Microfinance and Small Loans Centre from November 2013 to January 2017.
She was arraigned before the Financial Division of the High Court on January 30, 2019, together with others, on 78 counts.
The charges included stealing, conspiracy to steal, causing financial loss to the State, causing loss to public property, improper payment of public funds, unauthorised commitment resulting in financial obligation to government, money laundering and breaches of the Public Procurement Act.
The alleged offences were said to have occurred between 2013 and 2016.
She was later tried and convicted in absentia after travelling outside Ghana in 2019 with the court’s permission for a medical check-up and failing to return to continue the trial.
Following the conviction, she was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment.
Mrs Tamakloe-Attionu was extradited from the United States to Ghana on June 9, 2026.
Her return marked the first extradition between Ghana and the United States since 2009.
Upon arrival in Ghana, she was taken into custody to begin serving the sentence while her appeal was pending.
Her lawyers had asked the Court of Appeal to set aside the conviction, arguing that the prosecution did not establish its case beyond reasonable doubt.
They also contended that the charge sheet on which she was convicted was fundamentally defective.
The Court of Appeal has now accepted the challenge and cleared her of the charges.
Read the full judgment below;
