Securities Regulation Daily Wrap Up, FRAUD AND MANIPULATION—Former Goldman Sachs director convicted for conspiring to bribe Ghanian officials, (Aug 10, 2026)
Organizations Mentioned:Aksa Enerji Uretim A.S.
More than $1 million in bribes were intended to secure a deal between the Ghanaian government and a Turkish energy company for the construction of a power plant in Ghana.
The Department of Justice announced that Asante Berko, a former executive director in Goldman Sachs’s investment banking division, was convicted by a federal jury in the Eastern District of New York on all counts of an indictment charging conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), violating the FCPA, and money laundering conspiracy. Berko was found guilty of paying bribes to Ghanaian government officials in connection with the development of a power plant in Ghana by Aksa Enerji Uretim A.S. (Aksa), a Turkish energy company and Goldman client.
Berko was responsible for securing and managing the deal between Ghana and Aksa for the construction and financing of a power plant in Ghana amidst a national energy crisis in the country. He and his co-conspirators paid and conspired to pay bribes to officials at numerous levels of the Ghanaian government to ensure that Aksa won its bid to build and operate the plant.
In April 2015, Berko discussed paying $1 million to the Ghanaian Minister of Power who was responsible for securing approvals to allow the project to progress, and $250,000 to his senior adviser. After the deal was ratified by the Ghanaian parliament in July 2015, Berko and his co-conspirators exchanged emails regarding bribe payments to members of parliament and others.
Hiding the scheme. To hide the scheme from Goldman, Berko lied to Goldman’s compliance team that was overseeing the deal. He also used his personal email account, instead of his Goldman account, to discuss the bribe payments and directed his co-conspirators to do the same.
Berko and his co-conspirators concealed and laundered the bribe payments using shell companies, sham invoices, nominee account holders and cash withdrawals. Payments made in the bribery scheme were laundered through U.S. and foreign bank accounts. Goldman eventually withdrew from the deal due to corruption concerns.
Secret payment. In the indictment, the SEC explained that Berko benefitted both from the fees earned by Goldman after its client secured the project, and through the secret payment of $2 million by the Aksa for successfully coordinating the scheme.
The scheme was discovered in March 2016 after compliance personnel uncovered the involvement of the intermediary company after a review of Berko’s work emails. In March 2017, Berko resigned and took on a new role providing consulting services for Aksa.
Companies: Aksa Enerji Uretim A.S.
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