Following the conviction of Asante Berko, a Ghanaian-American businessman in Brooklyn, New York, some members of parliament (MPs) have been caught up in the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP)
The former TOR MD was convicted by a federal jury in the United States over a bribery and money laundering scheme linked to a power plant project in Ghana.
Asante Kwaku Berko, a dual US-Ghanaian citizen, was convicted in Brooklyn on August 6, 2026, on all counts in the indictment, following a nine-day trial before US District Judge Diane Gujarati in the Eastern District of New York.
According to information gathered, Asante Berko and others conspired to pay more than US$1 million in bribes to Ghanaian government officials to help secure a multimillion-dollar power plant deal for Turkish energy company Aksa Enerji Uretim A.S.
The shady deal centres on a power plant deal that was under development and financing between December 2014 and July 2015.
Asante Berko, who was then an executive director in the investment banking division of Goldman Sachs at the time, was involved in managing the transaction between the bank’s client, Aksa Enerji, and the Republic of Ghana.
In July 2024, Asante Berko was extradited to the United States after living in the United Kingdom and being arrested in November 2022 following an Interpol Red Notice.
The US prosecution also accused him of using the American financial system to facilitate the movement of illicit payments connected to the deal.
Asante Berko was convicted of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), violating the FCPA and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
He has since been remanded in custody pending sentencing, which is scheduled for November 10.
A news article by “the Herald has since intercepted excerpts from a June 2015 memorandum submitted to Parliament by the then Minister for Power, Dr Kwabena Donkor, which provides fresh details of the Government’s emergency power agreement with Turkish energy company AKSA Enerji Üretim AŞ.
The documents show that the initial agreement, which provided up to 370 megawatts (MW) of installed power generation capacity on a fast-track basis, was part of the Government’s response to Ghana’s severe power crisis at the time, called “Dumsor”. It was phrased “take or pay,” putting the country in what seems like a perpetual bond.
The Herald’s information is that since that initial transaction, AKSA’s power-generation footprint in Ghana has grown from 370MW to about 1,500MW. More recently, the company has received government support to proceed with plans for a much larger 900MW power project in Takoradi, further expanding its presence in Ghana’s power sector.
The memorandum, dated 15 June 2015 and addressed to Parliament, was titled: “Emergency Power Agreement with Attached Annexes Between the Government of Ghana (Ministry of Power) and Aksa Enerji Üretim AŞ for the Provision on a Fast-Track Basis, up to 370MW (ISO) Installed Capacity of Power Delivery Services.”
At the time, the Parliamentary Select Committee on Mines and Energy was chaired by Alhaji Amadu Bukari Sorogho, then the Member of Parliament for Madina on the NDC ticket.
The Ranking Member was K.T. Hammond, then the NPP MP for Adansi Asokwa, while Adam Mutawakilu served as Vice-Chairman and Joseph Cudjoe as Deputy Ranking Member, with the NDC MP for Damongo in the Savannah Region, currently the Ghana Water MD, and NPP MP for Effia in the Western Region, respectively.
Dr Donkor is currently the board chairman of Ghana Amalgamated Trust, a Ghana Government-based private equity model to support selected indigenous banks.
In the memorandum, Dr Donkor explained that the implementation of the Emergency Power Agreement (EPA) with AKSA was intended to increase Ghana’s generation capacity at a time when the country was battling a debilitating power crisis.
“The implementation of the EPA Agreement will enhance generation capacity, which is very critical, particularly in our quest as a nation to end the energy challenge,” the memorandum stated.
It added that the agreement would reduce the impact of the power crisis on the economy, particularly the industrial sector, while contributing to job creation.
According to the document, the Ministry of Power engaged relevant stakeholders in the power sector during inter-ministerial consultations on the agreement.
The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) was among the stakeholders consulted.
The agreement was also reviewed by a team comprising officials from the Ministry of Power, the Ministry of Justice and the Attorney-General’s Department, the Volta River Authority (VRA) and the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG)”.
Meanwhile, the Deputy Attorney General, Dr Justice Srem-Sai, in a social media post has revealed that the Government of Ghana, through the Office of the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, is working with the United States (US) authorities to bring to book other persons linked to the million-dollar Turkish Power Plant bribery deal, details have emerged of Ghanaian government officials link to the bribery scandal.
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