Ex-Tema Oil Refinery boss convicted in US on bribery and money laundering charges

A former Managing Director of Ghana's Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) and one-time Goldman Sachs executive director, Asante Kwaku Berko, has been convicted by a federal jury in Brooklyn on all counts of an indictment accusing him of bribing Ghanaian government officials to secure a multimillion-dollar power plant deal, capping a case that has run for more than a decade since the underlying conduct.

The verdict
The jury returned its verdict on Thursday, August 6, 2026, following a nine-day trial before US District Judge Diane Gujarati in the Eastern District of New York, convicting Berko, 52, on one count of conspiring to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), one count of violating the FCPA, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. Berko, a dual citizen of the United States and Ghana and an alumnus of Achimota School, was remanded in custody pending sentencing, where he faces up to 30 years in prison.

The scheme
Prosecutors told jurors that between approximately December 2014 and March 2017, Berko then an Executive Director in Goldman Sachs' investment banking division in London orchestrated a scheme to bribe Ghanaian officials to secure approvals for the development and financing of a power plant to be built and operated by Aksa Enerji, one of Türkiye's largest power producers, in which Goldman Sachs held a minority stake.

Prosecutors said Berko and his co-conspirators paid more than $1 million in bribes, with one 2015 email cited at trial describing a Ghanaian official as "waiting for the 'holy rain,'" which the government presented as coded language for bribe payments. In April 2015, according to court evidence, Berko and his accomplices discussed paying $1 million to Ghana's Minister of Power to secure approvals needed to advance the project.

Assistant US Attorney Nick Axelrod told the jury Berko was "at the heart of the scheme," saying he "made the introductions, he attended the meetings, he fronted the bribes" over roughly a year and a half. Prosecutors said the payments were concealed and laundered through sham invoices, shell companies, nominee account holders and cash withdrawals, routed through both US and foreign financial institutions, including accounts traced by the FBI to Berko's Zenith Bank account in Ghana. Goldman Sachs ultimately withdrew from the transaction after internal compliance red flags were raised over corruption concerns; Berko had denied any involvement when questioned by the bank's compliance team at the time.

The defence
Berko pleaded not guilty and his lawyer, Robert Boone of WilmerHale, argued throughout the trial that prosecutors lacked direct evidence no witness testimony to an actual bribe payment or handoff. "Where are the witnesses to Mr Berko's bribery? Is anyone going to testify to having seen a bribe or being paid a bribe? The answer is no," Boone told jurors, framing the government's case as circumstantial. The jury was unpersuaded, convicting on every count.

A long-running case
The allegations against Berko first surfaced publicly in 2020, when the US Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil complaint accusing him of orchestrating the bribery scheme to help Aksa Enerji win the Ghana contract. Berko briefly served as Managing Director of TOR for about four months between January and April 2020, resigning shortly after the SEC filed its charges. He was extradited to the United States from the United Kingdom in 2024 to face the criminal indictment, and his trial believed to be only the 27th FCPA jury trial in the statute's nearly 50-year history opened in late July 2026.

What comes next
The Herald (Ghana) has reported that further names including ministers and members of parliament could surface as the case moves toward sentencing, though this has not been confirmed by US prosecutors. The case was prosecuted by the Business and Securities Fraud Section of the US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York alongside the Justice Department's Criminal Division Fraud Section. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

Mustapha Bature Sallama.
Medical/ Science Communicator,
Private Investigator, Criminal investigation and Intelligence Analysis.
International Conflict Management and Peace Building.USIP
mustysallama@gmail.com
+233-555-275-880

References
The Herald Ghana, "Ex-Tema Oil Refinery boss convicted of bribery & money laundering in US," https://theheraldghana.com/ex-tema-oil-refinery-boss-convicted-of-bribery-money-laundering-in-us/

Graphic Online, "Former Goldman Sachs banker/TOR boss Asante Berko paid bribes to officials in Ghana - US tells jury at trial," https://www.graphic.com.gh/international/international-news/former-goldman-banker-paid-bribes-to-officials-in-ghana-us-tells-jury.html

Daily Post Nigeria, "Ex-banker convicted in US for bribing Ghanaian officials," https://dailypost.ng/2026/08/07/ex-banker-convicted-in-us-for-bribing-ghanaian-officials/

Law.com/New York Law Journal, "Feds Detail 'Nightmare' Bribe Scheme in Plea for Conviction of Ex-Goldman Sachs Banker,"

https://www.law.com/newyorklawjournal/2026/08/05/feds-detail-nightmare-bribe-scheme-in-plea-for-conviction-of-ex-goldman-sachs-banker/
FCPA Professor, "Berko Trial Begins," https://fcpaprofessor.com/berko-trial-begins/

Global Investigations Review, "Ex-Goldman banker to stand trial six years after FCPA indictment," https://globalinvestigationsreview.com/just-anti-corruption/article/ex-goldman-banker-stand-trial-six-years-after-fcpa-indictment

MyJoyOnline, "Former TOR MD extradited to US over bribes allegedly paid to Ghanaian officials," https://www.myjoyonline.com/former-tor-md-extradited-to-us-over-bribes-allegedly-paid-to-ghanaian-officials/

   Comments0