The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has called on the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) to take charge of investigations into the bribery allegations linked to the Asante Kwaku Berko case.

A federal jury in Brooklyn, New York, convicted Berko on August 6, over a scheme involving the payment of more than $1 million in bribes to multiple Ghanaian officials in connection with the development and financing of a power plant in Ghana.

Following the conviction, the Office of the Attorney General announced that it has commenced engagements with the United States counterparts for further investigation into the Ghanaian officials implicated in the case.

However, the NPP says it does not have confidence in the Attorney-General, Dr Dominic Ayine, to independently investigate or prosecute the matter because of his decisions to discontinue several cases involving persons associated with the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

“The Attorney-General must not control the investigation. OSP must,” the opposition party made the demand at a press conference in Accra on Thursday, August 13, addressed by Manhyia South MP Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah.

It cited the SSNIT scandal case, Saglemi Housing project case, COCOBOD-related cases and the UniBank case among matters in which it said the Attorney-General had entered nolle prosequi or discontinued proceedings.

According to the party, these decisions had raised concerns about accountability, recovery of public funds and the possibility of selective prosecution.

“Against this background, we do not believe that the Attorney-General can command the confidence of the Ghanaian public to independently investigate or prosecute allegations involving officials or politically connected persons of the NDC,” the party said.

The NPP said the OSP would be better placed to investigate the matter and trace the payments, beneficiaries, intermediaries and decisions connected to the Aksa power project.

It also demanded an independent public inquiry into the project, including investigations into an unnamed “Presidential Relative” and other persons allegedly connected to the transaction.

The party said the investigation must establish whether any Ghanaian officials or politically connected persons received improper payments and whether the approval processes for the power project were compromised.