A US federal jury has convicted former Tema Oil Refinery Managing Director Asante Kwaku Berko, a dual US-Ghanaian citizen and former Goldman Sachs executive, over a bribery scheme involving more than $1 million in payments to Ghanaian government officials in connection with the development of a power plant in Ghana.

According to the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, Berko was found guilty on all counts, including conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), violating the FCPA and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

The verdict followed a nine-day trial before US District Judge Diane Gujarati in Brooklyn, New York.

Former TOR MD Asante Berko paid 'holy rain of bribes' to Ghanaian officials - US court hears

Berko, who is 52-years-old, faces up to 30 years in prison when sentenced and has been remanded in custody pending sentencing.

The US authorities said Berko, who previously served as an Executive Director in Goldman Sachs’ Investment Banking Division, was responsible for securing and managing a deal between the Government of Ghana and Turkish energy company Aksa Enerji Uretim A.S. (Aksa) for the construction and financing of a power plant.

The project was estimated to generate hundreds of millions of dollars in profits.

According to evidence presented at trial, Berko and his co-conspirators allegedly paid or agreed to pay bribes to officials at various levels of the Ghanaian government to ensure Aksa won the contract to build and operate the plant.

In April 2015, Berko and his co-conspirators reportedly discussed paying $1 million to the then Ghanaian Minister of Power, who was responsible for securing key approvals for the project, as well as $250,000 to the minister’s senior adviser.

The US authorities further said five Ghanaian officials received bribes during an all-expenses-paid trip to Turkey to inspect equipment for the proposed power plant.

After Parliament ratified the agreement between Aksa and the Ghanaian government in July 2015, Berko and his associates allegedly continued discussing bribe payments.

In August 2015, they reportedly discussed $250,000 in payments to various individuals, including $46,000 allegedly paid to members of the Ghanaian Parliament who had ratified the agreement.

The US Attorney’s Office said Berko personally made the $46,000 payment.

The alleged bribery scheme was also said to have involved coded language to disguise the payments.

According to the US authorities, one of the alleged recipients was waiting for the “holy rain” — a term the conspirators used to refer to a bribe — and “would appreciate it sooner rather than later.”

To conceal the scheme, prosecutors said Berko lied to Goldman Sachs’ compliance team, which was responsible for vetting the transaction.

He also allegedly used his personal email account rather than his Goldman Sachs business account to discuss the deal and the bribe payments, while directing his co-conspirators to do the same.

The alleged payments were further concealed through shell companies, sham invoices, nominee account holders and cash withdrawals, with funds moved through US and foreign bank accounts.

However, Goldman Sachs eventually withdrew from the transaction due to concerns about corruption, according to the US Attorney’s Office.

US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Joseph Nocella Jr. said the conviction demonstrated the office’s commitment to tackling corruption.

“Today’s verdict marks another significant victory in this Office’s longstanding commitment to rooting out corruption,” he said.

“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,” Joseph Nocella added.

Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, for his part, said the case demonstrated the importance of maintaining fair competition in international business.

“We live in a global economy that American companies must be able to compete in fairly,” he said.

Duva continued, “This defendant corrupted that fair competition. He abused his position at a world-renowned American investment bank by helping bribe Ghanaian officials, so he and his co-conspirators, including senior executives at a Turkish company, could make money.”

Duva added that the conviction showed that those who undermine fair competition through corruption would face prosecution.

The US authorities also acknowledged assistance from the United Kingdom, the UK National Centre Bureau for INTERPOL, the US Embassy in London, the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs and the US Marshals Service in securing Berko’s arrest and extradition.

Meanwhile, FBI Assistant Director in Charge James C. Barnacle Jr. said the case demonstrated the importance of international cooperation in tackling financial crimes.

“Today’s verdict highlights the importance of domestic and international partnerships, and the magnitude of success that working together creates,” he said.

The case was prosecuted by the Business and Securities Fraud Section of the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York and the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.

Asante Kwaku Berko is listed as a resident of the United Kingdom and Ghana, while his case is docketed as 20-CR-328 (DG) in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

MA

With additional files from justice.gov