$1M ‘Chop-Chop’ Bribery Scandal: Ghana, US Hunt Fugitives

Ghanaian and United States authorities are pursuing suspects believed to have either benefited or facilitated a bribery scheme  of over a million American dollars involving a power plant development contract between the Government of Ghana and Turkish energy company Aksa Enerji Uretim A.S.

The development follows the conviction of former Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) Managing Director Asante Kwaku Berko by a US federal jury in Brooklyn, New York, over his alleged role in the scheme.

The scheme involved multiple layers of bribery, beginning in April 2015 with alleged discussions about paying $1 million to Ghana’s then-Minister of Power and $250,000 to the minister’s senior adviser. After Parliament ratified the agreement in July 2015,

Berko reportedly personally oversaw the alleged payment of $46,000 to members of Parliament. Throughout the conspiracy, the participants used coded language to conceal their activities, referring to the illicit payments as “holy rain” in their communications.

Deputy Attorney General Justice Srem-Sai said the Attorney-General’s Office was working with its US counterparts to bring other people implicated in the case to justice.

He made the disclosure in a post on X on August 8, 2026, after Berko was found guilty on all counts following a nine-day trial before US District Judge Diane Gujarati at the Eastern District of New York.

“The Honourable Attorney-General is working with his United States counterparts to bring to book persons who are implicated in the bribery scheme related to the 2014-2017 power plant development contract between a Turkish energy company and the Government,” he stated.

Justice Srem-Sai added: “This follows ASANTE KWAKU BERKO’s conviction by a United States federal jury in Brooklyn, New York, on charges of conspiracy to violate the United States’ Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and other related laws.”

He did not name the other people being pursued or disclose the specific steps being taken by the Ghanaian and US authorities.

Berko, a dual US-Ghanaian citizen and former Goldman Sachs executive, was convicted of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), violating the FCPA and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

The US case centred on allegations that Berko and others paid more than US$1 million in bribes to Ghanaian government officials to help secure a multimillion-dollar power plant contract for Aksa Enerji.

US prosecutors also accused Berko of using the American financial system to facilitate the movement of illegal payments connected to the deal.

The power plant project was under development and financing between December 2014 and July 2015. At the time, Berko was an executive director in Goldman Sachs’ investment banking division and helped manage the transaction between Aksa Enerji, a client of the bank, and the Government of Ghana.

Berko remains in custody pending sentencing on November 10. The charges carry maximum penalties that could result in a combined prison sentence of up to 30 years.

US authorities arrested him in the United Kingdom in November 2022 after Interpol issued a Red Notice. He was later extradited to the United States in July 2024 to face the charges.