Ghanaian-American Investment Banker Convicted in US for Bribing Ghanaian Officials Over Power Plant Deal
Asante Kwaku Berko, a dual citizen of the United States and Ghana, has been convicted by a federal jury in Brooklyn on all counts of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, violating the FCPA, and money laundering conspiracy for paying bribes to Ghanaian government officials in connection with a power plant project in Ghana.
The verdict was delivered on August 7, 2026, following a nine-day trial before United States District Judge Diane Gujarati. Berko faces up to 30 years in prison when sentenced and was ordered remanded pending sentencing.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, Berko, a former Executive Director in the Investment Banking Division at Goldman Sachs, conspired to pay more than $1 million in bribes to multiple Ghanaian government officials between 2014 and 2015 to secure a deal for Turkish energy company Aksa Enerji Uretim A.S. to build and operate a power plant in Ghana amid a national energy crisis.
Prosecutors said Berko and his co-conspirators discussed paying $1 million to the then Minister of Power and $250,000 to a senior adviser to secure key approvals.
They also paid bribes to five Ghanaian officials during an all-expenses-paid trip to Turkey to view equipment for the plant. After Parliament ratified the deal in July 2015, emails showed further discussions about $250,000 in bribe payments, including $46,000 to members of Parliament paid directly by Berko.
The court heard that to conceal the scheme, Berko lied to Goldman Sachs’ compliance team, used his personal email instead of his company account, and directed others to do the same.
Bribe payments were allegedly laundered through shell companies, sham invoices, nominee accounts, and cash withdrawals via U.S. and foreign bank accounts. Goldman Sachs later withdrew from the deal over corruption concerns.
Announcing the verdict, United States Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. said the conviction reflects the office’s commitment to rooting out corruption.
“The defendant abused his access to high-level foreign government officials and his platform as an investment banker at a prestigious American firm to line his own pockets with millions of dollars,” Nocella stated.
Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division said the case sends a clear message that “criminals who undermine our country’s interests by corrupting foreign governments and cutting off fair competition will face the full force of the Department of Justice.”
FBI Assistant Director in Charge James C. Barnacle Jr. credited the conviction to international cooperation with the UK, INTERPOL, the U.S. Marshals Service, and the Department’s Office of International Affairs in securing Berko’s arrest and extradition.
The case was prosecuted by the Business and Securities Fraud Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York and the Justice Department’s Fraud Section.
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