We provided assistance to US authorities in Asante Berko's conviction - OSP

The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) says it provided investigation and evidentiary assistance to United States authorities in the successful prosecution of former Goldman Sachs banker and former Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) Managing Director, Asante Kwaku Berko.

The OSP said its assistance was provided to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) through Ghana’s established mutual legal assistance framework.

A federal jury in Brooklyn, New York, convicted Berko on August 6, over a scheme involving the payment of more than $1 million in bribes to multiple Ghanaian officials in connection with the development and financing of a power plant in Ghana.

The OSP, in a public notice issued on Monday, August 10, said its role in the case had been acknowledged by the US Department of Justice (DoJ).

“The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) provided investigation and evidentiary assistance to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of the United States through Ghana's established mutual legal assistance framework,” the OSP said.

The office said the DoJ had described its contribution as providing “significant assistance to this prosecution”.

Berko, a dual citizen of Ghana and the United States, was a former Executive Director in the Investment Banking Division of the US-based Goldman Sachs group before becoming Managing Director of TOR.

US prosecutors had accused him of using his position at Goldman Sachs to facilitate a deal between the Republic of Ghana and Turkish energy company Aksa Enerji, a Goldman Sachs client.

According to the US Department of Justice, Berko was involved in a multi-year bribery and money laundering scheme between December 2014 and March 2017 while working at Goldman Sachs.

In 2020, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) accused Berko of arranging for at least $2.5 million to be transferred to a Ghana-based intermediary for illicit payments to Ghanaian officials in connection with the power plant project.

Berko was arrested in the United Kingdom in November 2022 and was later extradited to the US in July 2024 to face the criminal charges. He had pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The trial began in Brooklyn in late July 2026, with US prosecutors alleging that Berko and associates paid more than $1 million in bribes to Ghanaian officials to secure the power plant deal.

The OSP said Berko now faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison.

The sentence is scheduled for November 10, 2026.