PURC, Parliament, Power Ministry and others: How Asante Berko shared $1m+ in bribes

• Court documents reveal how Asante Berko allegedly distributed over $1 million in bribes to Ghanaian officials and institutions.

• The alleged payments included funds for PURC, Parliament, Ministry of Power staff and GridCo engineers.

• Ghana’s Attorney-General is working with US authorities to investigate others implicated in the bribery scheme.

The documents shared by Joy News outline several payments allegedly made during the development of the power project, including wire transfers from Turkey to Ghana through New York, payments to Ghanaian officials who travelled to Turkey and a later reimbursement settlement.

Berko, a Ghanaian-American former Goldman Sachs investment banker, was recently convicted by a US federal jury of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), violating the FCPA and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

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According to the prosecution’s evidence, the first major payment was a $500,000 wire transfer made in April 2015 under the first invoice.

The funds were transferred from Turkey to Ghana through New York.

A second payment of $1.5 million was allegedly made in May 2015 under a second invoice. The payment was made on the same day a senior Ghanaian official signed a document connected to the project, according to the court documents.

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The prosecution also presented evidence of payments to about five Ghanaian officials who were flown to Turkey to inspect equipment for the proposed power plant.

The officials allegedly received the payments in addition to about $5,000 each for flights and hotel expenses.

A further $140,000 wire transfer was later made as part of a reimbursement settlement. Prosecutors identified this payment as the specific transaction forming the basis of one of the charges against Berko.

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The court documents also refer to an August 2015 email described by prosecutors as a “breakdown of funds”.

The email allegedly provided an itemised list of payments made to various individuals and groups connected to the power project. According to the documents, the breakdown included:

• Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC): $20,000

• A named Ghanaian official: $10,000

• “MoP Girls”, referring to staff at the Ministry of Power: $20,000

• “Power Team”: $25,000

• GridCo engineers: $20,000

• Parliament: $30,000. The email stated that “Parliament was all paid by Asante”

• Travel and visas for the Turkey trip: approximately $45,000 to $50,000

• “Asante personal”: $35,000, which prosecutors said referred to Berko’s own share

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The email ended with the phrase, “Kindly perform your magic.”

The court documents also state that one of the alleged recipients was described as waiting for the “holy rain”, which prosecutors said was a reference to an expected bribe payment.

The revelations have also prompted action from Ghana’s government, with Deputy Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Justice Srem-Sai, announcing that the Attorney General is working with US authorities to identify and prosecute persons implicated in the alleged bribery scheme.

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In a post on August 8, 2026, Justice Srem-Sai wrote:

“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."

"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.”

The announcement comes after Berko’s conviction in the US, where prosecutors accused him of conspiring to pay more than $1 million in bribes to Ghanaian government officials to help secure the power plant contract for Turkish energy company Aksa Enerji Uretim A.S. (Aksa).

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Berko, who was an Executive Director in Goldman Sachs’ Investment Banking Division at the time, was responsible for helping secure and manage the transaction between Ghana and Aksa.

US prosecutors said Berko and his co-conspirators sought to ensure that Aksa secured the contract to construct and operate the power plant during Ghana’s energy crisis.

The deal was eventually ratified by Ghana’s Parliament in July 2015.

Prosecutors said the alleged payments continued after the parliamentary approval, with Berko and his co-conspirators exchanging emails about how funds would be distributed.

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The court documents further allege that Berko took steps to conceal the payments from Goldman Sachs’ compliance team.

He allegedly used his personal email account rather than his Goldman Sachs account to discuss the transaction and the payments and instructed others involved in the scheme to do the same.

Prosecutors also said shell companies, sham invoices, nominee account holders and cash withdrawals were used to conceal and launder the funds.

Goldman Sachs eventually withdrew from the project over corruption concerns.

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Berko was convicted following a nine-day trial in federal court in Brooklyn and was remanded in custody pending sentencing.

He faces up to 30 years in prison.