Government Goes After Ghanaian Officials Implicated In Asante Berko Bribery Scheme

• The Deputy Attorney-General announced the AG is coordinating with US counterparts to pursue Ghanaian officials implicated in a bribery scheme
• Former Goldman Sachs banker Kwaku Asante Berko was convicted by a US federal jury in Brooklyn for paying over $1 million in bribes to Ghanaian officials
• Berko, 52, faces up to 30 years in prison after being found guilty on all counts, including conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act

The Attorney-General is actively coordinating with US authorities to hold Ghanaian officials accountable for their roles in a bribery scheme tied to a multimillion-dollar power plant contract, the Deputy Attorney-General has confirmed.

Dr Justice Srem Sai disclosed the development on X, writing that the Attorney-General is "working with his US counterparts to bring to book persons who are implicated in the bribery scheme related to the 2014-2017 power plant development contract between a Turkish energy company and the Government."

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List of the bribe amounts Asante Berko paid to Ghanaian officials, including $20,000 to "MoP Girls"

The announcement on X follows the conviction of Kwaku Asante Berko, 52, a dual US-Ghanaian citizen and former Executive Director in the Investment Banking Division at Goldman Sachs, by a federal jury in Brooklyn, New York.

He was found guilty on all counts of an indictment charging conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), violating the FCPA, and money laundering conspiracy.

The verdict came after a nine-day trial before US District Judge Diane Gujarati, and Berko now faces up to 30 years in prison at sentencing. He has been remanded pending that date.

Berko had also served as Managing Director of the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) in Ghana.

Prosecutors established that beginning in December 2014, Berko worked to secure a deal between the Government of Ghana and Aksa Enerji Uretim A.S. (Aksa), the Turkish energy company and Goldman client, for the financing of a power plant during the power crisis under the first Mahama administration.

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Behind the Scenes: How OSP provided key evidence in Kwaku Asante Berko’s $1M bribery conviction

To ensure the contract was awarded to Aksa, Berko and his co-conspirators funnelled bribes to officials across multiple levels of the Ghanaian government.

Details of the Bribery Scheme

Among the payments discussed was $1 million earmarked for Ghana's then-Minister of Power and $250,000 for his senior adviser.

Five Ghanaian officials also received bribes during an all-expenses-paid trip to Turkey to inspect power plant equipment. After parliament ratified the deal in July 2015, further payments were arranged, including $46,000 directed to members of parliament, which Berko paid personally.

To shield the scheme from Goldman Sachs' compliance team, Berko conducted communications through his personal email account, directed co-conspirators to do the same, and used shell companies, sham invoices, nominee account holders and cash withdrawals to launder the bribe payments through US and foreign bank accounts.

Goldman Sachs ultimately withdrew from the deal citing corruption concerns.

US court convicts fraudster Derrick Van Yeboah

Earlier, YEN.com.gh reported on Derrick Van Yeboah, a 41-year-old Ghanaian national sentenced to 85 months in federal prison in the United States for his involvement in an international fraud syndicate that defrauded victims of over $100 million.

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Full list of 5 Ghanaian officials, MPs and former Minister caught in former TOR MD bribery scandal

His case underscored the critical collaboration between Ghanaian authorities and U.S. law enforcement in combating cybercrime.

Proofreading by Samuel Gitonga, copy editor at YEN.com.gh.

Source: YEN.com.gh