Berko, an investment banker, who worked at Goldman Sachs Group Inc, was charged by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
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Tema Oil Refinery boss accused of paying $2.5m in bribes to govt officials and MPs
The Chief Executive Officer of Tema Oil Refinery, (TOR), Asante Berko, has been charged for "orchestrating a bribery scheme" and arranging at least $2.5 million in bribes to be paid to government officials in Ghana and bribing Members of Parliament.
Tema Oil Refinery boss Asante Berko
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According to court documents from New York, the payment was allegedly made to gain approval for a client's power plant project from "2015 through at least 2016" and his action is said to be in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).
The government officials, along with the companies, are not named in the court documents.
The Securities and Exchange Commission said Asante Berko arranged the bribes for a Turkish energy company to funnel the money to a Ghana-based intermediary but the local company then allegedly made the payments to government officials.
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"From approximately 2015 through at least 2016 (the "relevant period"), while employed at the Subsidiary [Goldman Sachs Group Inc], Berko schemed to bribe various government officials in the Republic of Ghana ("Ghana") so that a client of the Subsidiary, a Turkish Energy Company (the "Energy Company"), would win a contract (the "Power Purchase Agreement") to build and operate an electrical power plant in Ghana and sell the power to the Ghanaian government (the "Power Plant Project" or "Project")."
The complaint further alleged that Berko helped the intermediary pay more than $200,000 in bribes to various other government officials, and Berko personally paid more than $60,000 to members of the Ghanaian parliament and other government officials.
According to the complaint, Berko took deliberate measures to prevent his employer from detecting his bribery scheme, including misleading his employer's compliance personnel about the true role and purpose of the intermediary company.
Read below the full statement from the US SEC:
The Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday charged a former executive of a financial services company with orchestrating a bribery scheme to help a client to win a government contract to build and operate an electrical power plant in the Republic of Ghana in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).
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The SEC's complaint alleges that Asante Berko, a former executive of a foreign-based subsidiary of a U.S. bank holding company, arranged for his firm’s client, a Turkish energy company, to funnel at least $2.5 million to a Ghana-based intermediary to pay illicit bribes to Ghanaian government officials in order to gain their approval of an electrical power plant project. The complaint further alleges that Berko helped the intermediary pay more than $200,000 in bribes to various other government officials, and Berko personally paid more than $60,000 to members of the Ghanaian parliament and other government officials. According to the complaint, Berko took deliberate measures to prevent his employer from detecting his bribery scheme, including misleading his employer’s compliance personnel about the true role and purpose of the intermediary company.
"As alleged in our complaint, Berko orchestrated a scheme to bribe high-level Ghanaian officials in pursuit of firm business and his own enrichment. Berko’s misconduct was egregious and individual accountability remains a key component to our FCPA enforcement efforts," said Charles Cain, Chief of the SEC Enforcement Division’s FCPA Unit. "The firm’s compliance personnel took appropriate steps to prevent the firm from participating in the transaction and it is not being charged."
The SEC’s complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, charges Berko with violating the anti-bribery provisions of the FCPA and federal securities laws. The SEC is seeking monetary penalties against Berko among other remedies.
The SEC’s case is being handled by Asita Obeyesekere and Paul G. Block of the FCPA Unit and Kathleen Shields, Mark Albers, and Marty Healey of the Boston Regional Office.
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