A federal jury in Brooklyn convicted former Goldman Sachs executive Asante Kwaku Berko of conspiring to violate U.S. anti-bribery laws, FCPA violations, and money laundering. Prosecutors proved he orchestrated over $1 million in bribes to Ghanaian officials to secure a lucrative power plant contract.
A federal jury in Brooklyn delivered a verdict against Asante Kwaku Berko, a dual U.S.-Ghanaian citizen and former Executive Director in Goldman Sachs’ Investment Banking Division, found guilty by a federal jury after a nine-day trial overseen by United States District Judge Diane Gujarati. Berko was immediately ordered remanded pending sentencing, which is scheduled for November 10. He faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison.
The criminal case, prosecuted by the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, targeted a complex cross-border scheme to bypass fair competitive bidding in West Africa’s energy sector. Law enforcement partners from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United Kingdom’s National Extradition Unit, the Crown Prosecution Service, and Ghanaian anti-corruption authorities coordinated to secure the defendant’s arrest and extradition.
The Power Plant Deal and the Bribery Apparatus
The illicit operations began in December 2014. At the time, Ghana was struggling with a severe national energy crisis, creating an urgent demand for new generation infrastructure. Berko was tasked with managing a deal between the Republic of Ghana and Aksa Enerji Uretim A.S., a Turkish energy company that was a Goldman Sachs client.
According to trial evidence, Berko and his co-conspirators built an infrastructure of payoffs designed to influence officials across multiple tiers of the Ghanaian government. In April 2015, the conspirators discussed paying $1 million to the country’s Minister of Power, who held authority over essential project approvals, along with an additional $250,000 intended for the minister’s senior adviser.
Bribes also took less direct forms. Five Ghanaian officials received $5,000 each during an all-expenses-paid inspection trip to Turkey to review equipment for the proposed plant. Following the Ghanaian parliament’s ratification of the agreement in July 2015, the conspirators exchanged extensive email correspondence detailing outstanding balances. One message referenced a recipient waiting for the holy rain, which prosecutors identified as a coded reference to promised bribe funds.
Concealment Tactics and Compliance Evasion
To keep the arrangement hidden from his employer, Berko actively deceived internal compliance personnel. He misled the firm’s compliance team and deliberately avoided corporate communication channels, opting instead for a personal email account and instructing associates to stay off internal company networks.
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The group washed the illicit funds through shell corporations, fake invoices, nominee bank accounts, and cash withdrawals, routing money through both domestic and international financial institutions. Goldman Sachs ultimately withdrew from the transaction entirely after raising internal concerns regarding corruption.
“Berko intentionally lied to his company to continue his scheme. The FBI will not tolerate dishonesty or corruption from anyone who wishes to disturb the business market.”
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Matthew B. Floyd, Acting Assistant Director of FBI’s Criminal Division, via thestkittsnevisobserver.com
Federal prosecutors emphasized the gravity of the institutional breach. High-level enforcement officials noted that the integrity of international markets relies on transparent competition free from elite corruption.
“We live in a global economy that American companies must be able to compete in fairly,” said Assistant Attorney General Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “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.”
A. Tysen Duva, Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, via Business Insider Africa
Legal Ramifications and What Comes Next
The jury convicted Berko on multiple counts, including conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, substantive violations of the FCPA, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Legal analysts note that the case underscores the heavy compliance exposure facing international banking institutions, transactional lawyers, and corporate legal teams when evaluating cross-border infrastructure deals.
Photo: thebanker.com
Berko remains remanded in custody while awaiting his sentencing hearing, which is set for Nov. 10 before United States District Judge Diane Gujarati in Brooklyn federal court.
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