The Member of Parliament (MP) for Asante Akyem North, Ohene Kwame Frimpong, aka OK Frimpong, is currently in the hands of law enforcement agencies in the Netherlands following his arrest on Sunday, May 10, 2026.

The MP has denied reports of being involved in financial crimes, including money laundering and romance scams, which supposedly triggered a warrant by the government of the United States, where he is being investigated for these crimes.

Though the MP has flatly denied these allegations, the trouble he has found himself in is quite serious and could lead to him being convicted and jailed.

In the event that the worst-case scenario for OK Frimpong happens and he is convicted, it would not be the first time a member of Ghana’s Parliament has been jailed.

A handful of legislators since the first Parliament of the 4th Republic of Ghana have been jailed either in Ghana or abroad for various crimes.

Flight No, Purpose of Visit and More: All you need to know about OK Frimpong's arrest

Here is a list of MPs who have been jailed and the crimes they were convicted of.

Dan Abodakpi:

In 2007, Dan Abodakpi became the first Member of Parliament to be imprisoned in the 4th Republic.

He was then the Member of Parliament for Keta on the ticket of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and former Minister for Trade and Industry.



He was convicted on charges of conspiracy, defrauding by false pretence, and causing a financial loss of $400,000 to the state through a shady feasibility study under the Trade and Investment Programme.

He was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment with hard labour.

Eric Amoateng:



Eric Amoateng was the second Member of Parliament (MP) to be jailed. He was jailed in the United States, making him the first Ghanaian legislator to be jailed in a foreign prison.

He was accused of drug trafficking and charged with eight counts of importation, conspiracy to import, distribution and conspiracy to distribute, and possession with intent to distribute heroin in America.

Eric Amoateng was sentenced to 120 months (10 years) in federal prison by a US District Court in Brooklyn, New York, in December 2007. In addition to his 10-year prison sentence, he was given five years of supervised release.

Amoateng served his sentence at the Moshannon Valley Correctional Centre in Philipsburg, Pennsylvania, and was released from US custody in July 2014 before returning to Ghana.

Adamu Dramani Sakande:



Adamu Dramani Sakande became the third MP to be jailed in 2012.

An Accra Fast Track High Court sentenced Adamu Dramani Sakande, who was then the New Patriotic Party Member of Parliament for Bawku Central, to two years' imprisonment after he was found guilty of false declaration of office, perjury and deceit of a public officer.

A Bawku-based cattle dealer, Sumaila Bielbiel, challenged the status of Adamu Dramani Sakande due to his dual citizenship.

Adamu Sakande was also alleged to have, before the 2008 elections, made a false statement in an application to have his name included in the voters' register.

The accused was also alleged to have registered as a voter when the voters register was opened and subsequently went ahead to vote in the December 2008 general elections when he was not entitled to do so.

He was sentenced to a two-year jail term. Whilst in jail, Sakande spent time receiving medical attention at the Cardiothoracic Unit of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra. He was granted a presidential pardon on December 31, 2012, by the then President, John Dramani Mahama, on medical grounds.

Aside from these three MPs who were jailed while in office, one MP was jailed after leaving office.

Abuga Pele:



Abuga Pele, a five-time Member of Parliament for the Chiana-Paga Constituency who served from the 2nd to the 6th Parliament of the 4th Republic, was jailed after he left office.

A Financial Division of the Accra High Court, in 2018, sentenced Abuga Pele, the former National Coordinator of the Ghana Youth Employment and Entrepreneurial Development Agency (GYEEDA), and Philip Assibit, the Chief Executive Officer of Goodwill International Group (GIG), to a total of 18 years’ imprisonment.

The two men were convicted on all 19 counts levelled against them, including defrauding by false pretences, misapplication of public property, dishonestly causing loss to public property and abetment of crime.

Pele was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment for abetment of crime and four years for wilfully causing financial loss to the state.

In July 2021, he received a presidential pardon from Nana Akufo-Addo on health grounds.

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