A number of Ghanaian politicians from the country's two largest parties, the National Democratic Congress and the New Patriotic Party (NPP), have been implicated in the AKSA bribery scandal, which has led to the conviction of former Managing Director of the Tema Oil Refinery, Asante Kwaku Berko.

Asante Berko was found guilty of paying bribes totalling over $1 million to NDC and NPP politicians, as well as other government officials and even Members of Parliament from both parties, to secure the power deal between AKSA Energy and the government of Ghana.

But how did Berko manage to “get in bed” with politicians from both leading parties, given the excessive politicisation of issues, including the award of government contracts? Maybe a profile of him would bring some clarity to this.

Asante Kwaku Berko, who was a dual United States and Ghanaian citizen, is an economist and investment banker, with extensive experience spanning a period of 22 years in corporate finance and investment. He has a solid history of developing and implementing effective financial models and strategies to achieve organisational objectives.

Berko’s professional life has seen him occupy various executive positions and perform vital structuring and restructuring roles in globally recognised organisations such as Barclays Capital/Absa Capital, Credit Suisse, Ernst & Young LLP and Goldman Sachs International (GSI), the London-based subsidiary of Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

He served as an Executive Director in the Investment Banking Division, where he was responsible for securing and managing a transaction between Goldman Sachs and its client. According to case records, he was at GSI from July 2014 to March 2017.

According to energynewsafrica.com, he previously worked as Vice President, Asset Finance at Credit Suisse in New York from 2005 to 2008, before joining Barclays Capital/Absa Capital in Johannesburg, where he headed Debt Capital Markets and Structured Asset Solutions from 2008 to 2014.

Asante Berko was also the Vice President and Portfolio Manager of SunTrust Robinson-Humphrey, Debt Capital Markets-CDO Group, Atlanta, from June 2004 to July 2005. He co-managed a $500 million portfolio that invested in mezzanine tranches of both cash and synthetic CDO transactions.

From September 2000 to June 2004, Berko was a Manager at Ernst & Young, where he was in charge of Asset Finance Solutions/ Leasing Group in San Francisco. He was a senior consultant at Ernst & Young in New York between April 1998 and September 2000.

He has earned recognition for restructuring organisations towards growth and profitability and seeks to use his rich background to position TOR on a sound footing and spur the refinery to greater heights.

In 2020, he was appointed Managing Director of TOR by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. He resigned from the role that same year after US authorities filed charges against him over the AKSA power deal.

Berko holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics and Accounting from the University of Hull, M.A. in Economics from Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts, a diploma in Computer Programming and Data Processing, London College, and has a one-year certificate programme in Econometrics and Regression Analysis from York University, Ontario, Canada.

He was awarded a fellowship at Harvard University, where he used the opportunity to develop models that help to understand the difference in value between private and public housing projects through independent research.

A summary of the case according to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC):

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. was a bank holding company incorporated in Delaware with its primary place of business in New York. Its common stock was registered with the SEC and traded on the NYSE. Goldman Sachs carried out its global operations through numerous consolidated and controlled subsidiaries.

Goldman Sachs International ("GSI") was a United Kingdom-based subsidiary of Goldman Sachs through which the bank provided broker-dealer, investment banking and other financial services for its clients in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East and Africa. GSI's financial statements (including the related books, records, and accounts) were consolidated with the financial statements of Goldman Sachs.

Martin Amidu gives details of OSP investigation on AKSA bribery scandal

During the period from July 2014 through March 2017, Berko was an Executive Director in the Investment Banking Division at GSI with responsibility for securing and managing a deal between Goldman Sachs' client, an unnamed Turkish energy company, and the Government of the Republic of Ghana to build a power plant in the country and to provide financing for the power plant.

According to the documents in this case, between December 2014 and March 2017, Berko conspired with others to make corrupt payments to government officials associated with the Ministry of Power in Ghana to obtain and retain business for Goldman Sachs and the Turkish energy company. Berko also conspired to launder money to promote the bribery scheme. In all, the conspiracy caused more than $700,000 in bribes to the Ghanaian officials. Berko expected the power plant deal would provide multiple business opportunities for Goldman Sachs, including a loan of approximately $190 million to the Turkish energy company to build the power plant and a separate letter of credit for the Republic of Ghana of approximately $75 million in connection with the operation of the power plant. These business opportunities would have resulted in significant fees for Goldman Sachs of approximately $11.3 million.

On August 26, 2020, the DOJ filed a three-count indictment under seal against Berko in the Eastern District of New York alleging conspiracies to violate the anti-bribery provisions of the FCPA and to commit money laundering as well as direct violations of the anti-bribery provisions of the FCPA. The DOJ unsealed the indictment on November 3, 2022.

On July 15, 2024, Berko was extradited from the U.K. to the U.S. to face charges, and he was arraigned and pleaded not guilty the next day.

On July 1, 2025, Berko filed a motion to dismiss the indictment on the grounds that the indictment "was improperly sealed and Mr. Berko’s arrest was unreasonably delayed, resulting in a circumvention of the statute of limitations and a violation of Mr. Berko’s right to a speedy trial."

In a related proceeding, the SEC filed a two-count complaint in the Eastern District of New York against Berko on April 13, 2020, alleging violations of the anti-bribery provisions of the FCPA. Berko entered into a consent agreement with the SEC on June 23, 2021, and the court entered final judgment on the same date. Under the terms of the agreement, Berko agreed to be enjoined from future violations of the FCPA and to pay disgorgement of $275,000 plus prejudgment interest of $54,163.92.

Berko has now been found guilty of all the charges against him by a jury of the court.

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