Asante Berko Bribery Case: Ghana Investigates Officials After U.S. Conviction

The Asante Berko bribery case has moved from a U.S. criminal prosecution to an active investigation inside Ghana. On August 6, 2026, a federal jury in Brooklyn convicted former Goldman Sachs investment banker Asante Kwaku Berko on Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and money-laundering charges tied to a scheme involving more than $1 million in bribes connected to a Ghana power project.

Four days later, Ghana’s Economic and Organised Crime Office, or EOCO, said it was tracing funds, beneficiaries and assets that may be connected to the case. Ghana’s Office of the Special Prosecutor has also disclosed that it assisted the FBI during the U.S. investigation.

The case now raises a much bigger question for Ghana: if U.S. prosecutors proved that bribes were paid to Ghanaian officials, will investigators in Accra be able to identify the recipients and establish criminal liability under Ghanaian law?

That answer is not known yet. Berko has been convicted in the United States. The Ghanaian officials referred to in the U.S. case have not automatically been convicted, or even necessarily charged, in Ghana. EOCO has specifically warned against making that leap.

What Happened in the Asante Berko Bribery Case?

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, a federal jury convicted Berko on August 6 after a nine-day trial before U.S. District Judge Diane Gujarati in the Eastern District of New York.

The jury found him guilty on all counts of an indictment charging conspiracy to violate the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, violations of the FCPA and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Berko, who is a dual citizen of Ghana and the United States, previously worked as an executive director in Goldman Sachs’ investment banking division. He later served as Managing Director of the Tema Oil Refinery, although the allegations in the current case concern his earlier work on the Ghana power transaction rather than his later tenure at TOR.

The U.S. Justice Department says Berko faces a maximum possible sentence of 30 years in prison. His sentencing is scheduled for November 10, 2026, and he has been remanded pending sentencing.

The Ghana Power Project at the Center of the Case

The scheme dates back to Ghana’s severe electricity crisis during the middle of the last decade, when prolonged load shedding became widely known as “dumsor.”

Beginning in December 2014, according to U.S. prosecutors, Berko was responsible for securing and managing a transaction involving the Republic of Ghana and Turkish energy company Aksa Enerji Uretim A.S., which was a Goldman Sachs client.

The project involved the construction and financing of a power plant in Ghana. The agreement moved through the Ghanaian government during a period when additional electricity generation was politically and economically urgent.

Ghana’s Parliament ratified the power agreement in July 2015.

This context matters. Emergency conditions can force governments to move quickly, especially when electricity shortages are affecting homes, factories and businesses. They also make transparency particularly important because large contracts may be negotiated under intense pressure.

Readers interested in the wider financial pressures surrounding electricity generation can also see our guide to Ghana’s energy-sector debt and reforms.

What U.S. Prosecutors Say About the Alleged Ghana Payments

The most striking part of the Asante Berko bribery case is the level of detail contained in the U.S. government’s account of the trial evidence.

The Justice Department says Berko and his co-conspirators conspired to pay more than $1 million in bribes to officials at multiple levels of the Ghanaian government to help the Turkish company secure the power project.

In April 2015, prosecutors say the conspirators discussed a $1 million payment to Ghana’s Minister of Power, who was responsible for key approvals connected to the project, as well as $250,000 for the minister’s senior adviser.

That wording is important. The Justice Department says those payments were discussed. Its August 6 release does not say that the full $1 million and $250,000 amounts were ultimately received by the individuals holding those positions.

Other payments were more specifically described by prosecutors.

Five Ghanaian officials who traveled to Turkey to inspect equipment for the power project each received $5,000, according to the Justice Department. Their trip expenses were also paid.

After Parliament ratified the agreement in July 2015, prosecutors say communications among Berko and his co-conspirators became even more detailed.

In August 2015, they discussed approximately $250,000 in bribe payments to different individuals. The Justice Department says this included $46,000 paid by Berko to members of Ghana’s Parliament.

One of the more memorable pieces of evidence involved the expression “holy rain.” According to U.S. prosecutors, conspirators used that phrase while discussing a recipient who was waiting for a bribe payment.

The Justice Department also says Berko concealed the scheme from Goldman Sachs by misleading compliance personnel and communicating through personal email accounts. Prosecutors say shell companies, sham invoices, nominee account holders, cash withdrawals and U.S. and foreign bank accounts were used to conceal or move money.

Goldman Sachs ultimately withdrew from the transaction because of corruption concerns, according to the Justice Department. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission also stated when it first brought its civil case in 2020 that the firm was not being charged.

The Asante Berko Bribery Case Is Now an Active Ghana Investigation

This is where the story has changed substantially since Berko’s conviction.

On August 10, EOCO announced that it had begun tracing funds and assets connected to the Ghanaian side of the investigation.

EOCO said investigators will examine transactions, beneficiaries, assets and possible proceeds associated with suspected criminal conduct. Where evidence and Ghanaian law permit, the agency says it will seek to preserve or recover assets.

The Ghana investigation did not begin this week. EOCO says it started looking into the matter last year after U.S. authorities requested information concerning individuals in Ghana who were relevant to the American investigation. According to EOCO, that request included information concerning a former Minister of State and public servants.

The Attorney-General and Ministry of Justice have been involved in the Ghanaian side of the matter, and the Attorney-General has now instructed EOCO to intensify the investigation as evidence arrives through international cooperation channels.

There is another important piece of the story. Ghana’s Office of the Special Prosecutor says it worked with the FBI through Ghana’s mutual legal assistance framework while the U.S. prosecution was underway.

The U.S. Justice Department independently confirmed that its Office of International Affairs and the FBI’s Law Enforcement Attache in Accra worked with the International Cooperation Unit of Ghana’s Attorney-General’s Office and Ghana’s Office of the Special Prosecutor, which provided significant assistance to the prosecution.

In plain English, Ghanaian authorities were not simply watching the case from Accra. Ghanaian institutions helped U.S. investigators obtain evidence.

Former Power Minister Kwabena Donkor Denies Involvement

Dr. Kwabena Donkor was Ghana’s Minister of Power during the relevant period and has publicly responded to the renewed attention surrounding the case.

Through his lawyers, Donkor said on August 10 that he had no knowledge of any request or demand for money linked to him.

He acknowledged that the Ministry of Power negotiated with Aksa Energy while Ghana was experiencing severe load shedding and confirmed that a technical team traveled to Turkey to inspect power-generation equipment.

Donkor’s position is that he never met Berko, never discussed a personal benefit with him, never authorized anyone to request money on his behalf and never received money or another personal benefit from Berko.

This distinction needs to remain clear when discussing the case.

The U.S. Justice Department refers to the Ghanaian “Minister of Power” when describing the April 2015 payment discussions, but its public August 6 release does not name Donkor as a person who received a bribe. Holding the ministerial position at the time is not, by itself, proof of criminal conduct.

EOCO has made the same broader legal point. Berko’s conviction in the United States does not automatically establish criminal liability for any Ghanaian individual whose name appears in documents or evidence.

Each person’s conduct must be examined separately.

Timeline of the Asante Berko Bribery Case

Why the Case Matters for Ghana

The most important part of this story is no longer simply whether Berko committed a crime. A U.S. jury has answered that question under U.S. law.

The unresolved question concerns the Ghanaian side.

The trial evidence described payments involving government officials, ministry personnel and members of Parliament. Ghanaian investigators must now determine who actually received money, why it was received, whether the conduct violated Ghanaian law and whether enough admissible evidence exists to support prosecutions.

The case also shows how corruption investigations increasingly cross national borders. Money can move through multiple banks, shell companies and jurisdictions, while evidence may sit in email accounts, financial records and corporate documents located thousands of miles apart.

In this case, authorities in Ghana, the United States and the United Kingdom have all played roles at different stages.

There is a business consequence as well. Large public contracts depend on investors, lenders and contractors believing that bids will be assessed under predictable rules rather than determined by private payments. Corruption allegations can damage that confidence even when a project itself remains operational.

For anyone following Ghana from an investment perspective, the case should be viewed alongside the broader changes taking place in the Ghanaian economy in 2026. The strength of enforcement institutions, procurement rules and contract oversight matters alongside GDP growth, inflation and exchange rates.

What Happens Next in the Asante Berko Bribery Case?

There are now two separate tracks to watch.

In the United States, Berko is awaiting sentencing. He faces a maximum possible sentence of 30 years, although the actual sentence will be determined by the federal judge after considering U.S. sentencing rules and the circumstances of the case.

In Ghana, the investigation is less advanced publicly.

EOCO says it is following the financial trail and tracing assets while the Attorney-General obtains evidence, records and other information through cooperation with U.S. authorities.

If investigators identify individuals in Ghana, EOCO has made clear that those people will be assessed independently. Evidence that helped establish Berko’s guilt in Brooklyn will not automatically prove another person’s guilt in Accra.

That makes the next phase especially important. The public should watch for formal statements from EOCO, the Attorney-General, the Office of the Special Prosecutor and Ghana’s courts rather than treating names circulating on social media as proven participants in the scheme.

The U.S. trial established that an international bribery scheme existed. Ghana now has to determine, person by person and transaction by transaction, what happened on its side of the deal.

Sources

• U.S. Department of Justice: “Former Banker Convicted for Scheme to Bribe Ghanaian Officials” – August 6, 2026
• U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of New York: “Former Goldman Sachs Investment Banker Convicted of Foreign Bribery and Money Laundering” – August 6, 2026
• U.S. Attorney’s Office: “Former Banker Charged with Bribing Ghanaian Officials Extradited to the United States from the United Kingdom” – July 16, 2024
• U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission: “SEC Charges Former Financial Services Executive With FCPA Violations” – April 13, 2020
• U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission: “SEC Obtains Final Judgment Against Former Executive of Financial Services Company” – June 23, 2021
• Citi Newsroom: “EOCO begins tracing funds, assets linked to Asante Berko bribery case” – August 10, 2026
• Citi Newsroom: “OSP provided key evidence in US conviction of former TOR MD Asante Berko” – August 10, 2026
• Graphic Online: “Kwabena Donkor reacts to ‘holy rain’ US bribery case” – August 10, 2026
• Graphic Online: “A-G engaging US counterparts to bring Ghanaian officials implicated in Asante Berko bribery scheme to book” – August 2026