The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has stated that it played a key role in supporting the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation, which led to the conviction of former Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) Managing Director, Asante Kwaku Berko, in a US bribery trial.
According to the OSP, the support was delivered under Ghana’s mutual legal assistance arrangement. The US Department of Justice has recognised the contribution as important to the case.
“The involvement of the OSP has been acknowledged by the United States Department of Justice (DoJ) as providing ‘significant assistance to this prosecution,’” the OSP stated in a public notice released on Monday, August 10, 2026.
A federal jury in Brooklyn, New York found Mr Berko guilty on August 6, 2026, for arranging and making payments of over US$1 million in bribes to several Ghanaian officials between 2014 and 2015.
The payments were tied to efforts to secure the development and funding of a power plant in Ghana. The project involved an agreement between the Government of Ghana (GoG) and Turkish firm, Aksa Enerji Uretim A.S., which was a client of US investment bank Goldman Sachs.
The OSP said the joint work with the FBI was mostly conducted discreetly, with Ghana supplying investigative support and evidence to US prosecutors as they built the case. The Office added that the conviction shows why international collaboration matters in tackling corruption that cuts across borders.
It also noted that the result underscores how mutual legal assistance tools help agencies in different countries exchange information and proof in graft investigations. Mr Berko, who holds both Ghanaian and US citizenship, faces up to 30 years behind bars after the guilty verdict.He is due back in a US court on November 10, 2026 for sentencing.
