The conviction of former Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) Managing Director Asante Kwaku Berko in a Brooklyn federal court has reignited a decade-old corruption trail that circles back to Dr Kwabena Donkor, Ghana’s Minister for Power at the time the underlying deal was struck. Ghanaian authorities have now confirmed they are working with US counterparts to identify anyone else implicated, even as prosecutors in New York have stopped short of naming Donkor or any other Ghanaian official.
What the US Verdict Actually Said
A federal jury in Brooklyn convicted Berko on Thursday, August 6, 2026, on all counts of an indictment charging conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), a substantive FCPA violation, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. The nine-day trial before US District Judge Diane Gujarati centred on a scheme, running from 2014 to 2017, in which Berko then an Executive Director in Goldman Sachs’ Investment Banking Division allegedly helped arrange more than $1 million in bribes to Ghanaian officials to secure approval for a power plant deal between the Government of Ghana and Turkish energy company Aksa Enerji Üretim AŞ.
According to the US Department of Justice, Berko and his co-conspirators discussed in April 2015 paying $1 million to “the Minister of Power,” described as the official responsible for securing the key approvals the project needed to precede, along with a further $250,000 for the minister’s senior adviser. Five other Ghanaian officials were separately alleged to have received bribes during an all-expenses-paid trip to Turkiye to inspect equipment for the plant, and a further $250,000, including $46,000 for members of Parliament, was allegedly discussed after Parliament ratified the agreement in July 2015. Crucially, the DOJ’s public conviction announcement did not name the minister, the adviser, or any of the parliamentarians allegedly involved. Berko, 52, faces up to 30 years in prison at sentencing.
Where Donkor Enters the Picture
Dr Kwabena Donkor was Ghana’s Minister for Power at the time the Aksa emergency power agreement was negotiated and submitted to Parliament, during the height of the “Dumsor” load-shedding crisis that crippled Ghana’s electricity supply. Reporting has since surfaced a June 2015 memorandum, submitted to Parliament under Donkor’s name, detailing the emergency power agreement between the Ministry of Power and Aksa for the fast-tracked delivery of up to 370 megawatts of installed capacity. That memorandum documents Donkor’s official role in advancing the deal Berko has now been convicted of helping to corrupt but a minister’s role in approving a legitimate government contract is not, on its own, evidence that he personally received or solicited any bribe.
It is important to be precise about what established fact is and what remains allegation. The DOJ has not publicly identified Donkor, or anyone else, as the recipient of the bribes discussed in trial evidence. No Ghanaian official has been charged in the United States or in Ghana in connection with this scheme as of this writing.
Ghana’s Response
Deputy Attorney-General Justice Srem Sai confirmed on Saturday, August 8, that Attorney-General Dominic Ayine is engaging his American counterparts following Berko’s conviction, with the stated aim of bringing to book anyone implicated in the bribery scheme. Ghanaian authorities have not publicly identified any individual they are currently investigating in connection with the case.
Whether that cooperation ultimately produces charges against Ghanaian officials sitting or former will depend on evidence US prosecutors are prepared to share, and on Ghana’s own investigative and prosecutorial follow-through, an area where past FCPA-linked cases involving Ghanaian officials have not always resulted in domestic accountability.
A Case With Wider Reach
The DOJ’s broader case file makes clear this was not a narrow, single-official scheme. Prosecutors said proceeds were laundered through shell companies, fraudulent invoices, and nominee accounts across multiple jurisdictions, and that Goldman Sachs itself eventually withdrew from the transaction after its own compliance function flagged corruption concerns serious enough that the bank walked away from a client relationship with a major Turkish energy firm. Berko was arrested in London in November 2022 under an Interpol Diffusion Notice and extradited to the United States in July 2024 to face trial, which is believed to be only the 27th FCPA case to reach a jury verdict in the nearly fifty-year history of the statute.
What to Watch
Donkor, who currently chairs the board of Ghana Amalgamated Trust, a state-backed private equity vehicle supporting indigenous banks, has not as of this writing issued a public statement responding to the renewed scrutiny. The coming weeks, as Berko’s sentencing approaches in November and the Attorney-General’s engagement with US counterparts continues, will determine whether this remains a matter of historical documentation and inference, or whether it develops into formal allegations against named Ghanaian officials.
Mustapha Bature Sallama.
Medical/ Science Communicator,
Private Investigator, Criminal investigation and Intelligence Analysis.
International Conflict Management and Peace Building.USIP
[email protected]
+233-555-275-880
References
US Department of Justice, “Former Banker Convicted for Scheme to Bribe Ghanaian Officials,” August 6, 2026. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/former-banker-convicted-scheme-bribe-ghanaian-officials
ModernGhana.com, “Former TOR boss Asante Berko convicted in US over Ghana power plant bribery scheme,” August 2026. https://www.modernghana.com/news/1517392/former-tor-boss-asante-berko-convicted-in-us-over.html
ModernGhana.com, “Ex-Tema Oil Refinery boss convicted in US on bribery and money laundering charges,” August 2026. https://www.modernghana.com/news/1517433/ex-tema-oil-refinery-boss-convicted-in-us-on-bribe.amp
The Herald Ghana, “Dumsor-era US$1 million bribery allegation haunts NDC & NPP politicians,” August 2026. https://theheraldghana.com/dumsor-era-us1-million-bribery-allegation-haunts-ndc-npp-politicians/
Asaase Radio, “Berko bribery conviction: AG moves to pursue other suspects in US$1m scheme,” August 2026. https://asaaseradio.com/berko-bribery-conviction-ag-moves-to-pursue-other-suspects-in-us1m-scheme/
MyJoyOnline, “How Asante Kwaku Berko allegedly paid over $1 million in bribes to former minister, MPs, and gov’t officials to secure deal for Turkish client,” August 2026. https://www.myjoyonline.com/how-asante-kwaku-berko-allegedly-paid-over-1-million-in-bribes-to-former-minister-mps-and-govt-officials-to-secure-deal-for-turkish-client/
