• Former Goldman Sachs banker Asante Kwaku Berko has been convicted in the US over a bribery scheme involving Ghanaian officials.

• Prosecutors said Berko conspired to pay more than $1 million in bribes linked to a power plant project in Ghana.

• Berko faces up to 30 years in prison and has been remanded pending sentencing.

Berko, a dual citizen of the United States and Ghana, was convicted on Thursday, August 6, 2026, in Brooklyn on charges of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), violating the FCPA and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

The nine-day trial was held before United States District Judge Diane Gujarati. Berko, 52, was remanded in custody pending sentencing and faces up to 30 years in prison.

The verdict was announced by the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

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“Today’s verdict marks another significant victory in this Office’s longstanding commitment to rooting out corruption,” US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Joseph Nocella Jr., said.

“The defendant abused his access to high-level foreign government officials and his platform as an investment banker at a prestigious American firm to line his own pockets with millions of dollars.”

Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division said the conviction demonstrated the US government’s commitment to preventing corruption from undermining fair competition.

“We live in a global economy that American companies must be able to compete in fairly,” Mr Duva said.

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“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.”

“Today’s conviction makes clear that criminals who undermine our country’s interests by corrupting foreign governments and cutting off fair competition will face the full force of the Department of Justice.”

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According to evidence presented at trial, Berko conspired with others to pay more than $1 million in bribes to multiple Ghanaian government officials to secure the development and financing of a power plant expected to generate hundreds of millions of dollars in profits.

The scheme began in December 2014 when Berko, then an Executive Director in the Investment Banking Division at Goldman Sachs Group, was responsible for securing and managing a deal between the Government of Ghana and Aksa Enerji Uretim A.S. (Aksa), a Turkish energy company and Goldman Sachs client.

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The deal involved the construction and financing of a power plant in Ghana during a period of national energy challenges.

US prosecutors said Berko and his co-conspirators paid or agreed to pay bribes to individuals at different levels of the Ghanaian government to ensure that Aksa won the contract to build and operate the power plant.

In April 2015, prosecutors said Berko and the conspirators discussed paying $1 million to the Ghanaian Minister of Power, who was responsible for securing key approvals for the project, as well as $250,000 to the minister’s senior adviser.

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Bribes were also allegedly paid to five Ghanaian officials during an all-expenses-paid trip to Turkey to inspect equipment for the proposed power plant.

After Parliament ratified the power plant agreement in July 2015, Berko and his co-conspirators allegedly exchanged emails detailing further bribe payments.

In August 2015, they discussed $250,000 in payments to various individuals, including $46,000 to members of the Ghanaian Parliament who had ratified the agreement between Aksa and the Ghanaian government, according to the US Department of Justice.

Prosecutors also presented evidence that one of the alleged bribe recipients was waiting for the “holy rain”, which they said referred to the bribe payment, and “would appreciate it sooner rather than later.”

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The US government said Berko took steps to conceal the alleged bribery scheme from Goldman Sachs and others involved in the deal.

According to prosecutors, he lied to Goldman Sachs’ compliance team, which was responsible for reviewing the transaction, and used his personal email account rather than his company email to communicate about the deal and the alleged bribe payments.

He also allegedly instructed his co-conspirators to use personal email accounts.

The payments were allegedly concealed and laundered through shell companies, sham invoices, nominee account holders and cash withdrawals. Prosecutors said money connected to the scheme was moved through US and foreign bank accounts.

Goldman Sachs eventually withdrew from the deal because of corruption concerns.

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FBI Assistant Director in Charge James C. Barnacle Jr. said the conviction highlighted the importance of international cooperation in tackling financial corruption.

“Today’s verdict highlights the importance of domestic and international partnerships, and the magnitude of success that working together creates,” Mr Barnacle said.

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“The FBI is thankful for the assistance from the Department of Justice and the United Kingdom – specifically to the Office of International Affairs, U.S. Marshals Service, and INTERPOL – in pursuing justice to protect our country’s financial integrity.”

The US Attorney’s Office also expressed appreciation to the UK Government, the UK National Central Bureau for INTERPOL, the US Embassy in London, the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs and the US Marshals Service for their assistance in securing Berko’s arrest and extradition.

Berko remains in custody pending sentencing. He faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison.

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The case was prosecuted by the Business and Securities Fraud Section of the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York and the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.