Ex-Goldman Banker Accused of Bribing Ghana Officials

ACCRA (Capital Markets in Africa) — A former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. banker was sued by U.S. regulators for allegedly orchestrating a bribery scheme that helped a client win a government contract to build a power plant in the Republic of Ghana.

Asante Berko, 46, arranged for a Turkish energy company to funnel at least $2.5 million through a Ghana-based intermediary to government officials, the Securities and Exchange Commission said in a Monday statement. Berko hid his misconduct from Goldman by misleading compliance personnel about the true role of the intermediary company that paid the bribes, the SEC said.

An attorney for Berko, who hasn’t settled with the SEC, declined to comment.

“Berko orchestrated a scheme to bribe high-level Ghanaian officials in pursuit of firm business and his own enrichment,” Charles Cain, head of the SEC’s anti-bribery unit, said in the statement. “The firm’s compliance personnel took appropriate steps to prevent the firm from participating in the transaction and it is not being charged.”

The SEC is seeking monetary penalties against Berko and other remedies, according to the statement.

‘Fully Cooperated’
“Goldman Sachs fully cooperated with the SEC’s investigation,” Spokeswoman Nicole Sharp said in an emailed statement.

Berko worked in the financing group of Goldman’s investment-banking division. He tendered his resignation in December 2016, according to the SEC.

Berko is now the managing director of the Tema Oil Refinery, Ghana’s sole crude refinery, where he was appointed in January. A spokesman for the plant wouldn’t immediately comment when contacted by text message.

Another Blemish
The SEC’s allegations against Berko are another blemish for Goldman’s far-flung international operations, which have been involved in a string of high-profile scandals around the globe over the past decade. The firm is still trying to resolve probes into the assistance its bankers provided to a multibillion-dollar corruption and money laundering ring in Malaysia, the firm’s most severe reputational blow since the financial crisis.

But even outside of the 1MDB scandal, Berko is the fourth Goldman investment banker targeted in the last two years by the SEC. The three others were accused of abusing their positions at the firm for insider trading violations.

Source: Bloomberg Business News