Former Tema Oil Refinery Managing Director Asante Kwaku Berko has been convicted in the United States over a massive bribery and money-laundering scheme involving Ghanaian government officials and a lucrative power project.

A federal jury in Brooklyn, New York, found Berko guilty on Thursday, August 6, 2026, on all counts, including conspiracy to violate the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, violation of the FCPA and conspiracy to commit money laundering. The verdict followed a nine-day trial before U.S. District Judge Diane Gujarati.

According to U.S. prosecutors, Berko and his co-conspirators paid or plotted to pay more than $1 million in bribes to Ghanaian officials while he worked as an executive director at Goldman Sachs.

The prosecution said the payments were connected to efforts to secure and finance a power plant in Ghana for Turkish energy company Aksa Enerji during the country’s energy crisis.

Authorities said the bribery operation reached officials at different levels of government. Prosecutors also accused Berko of concealing the scheme from Goldman Sachs’ compliance team by using personal email accounts, shell companies, sham invoices and other methods to disguise payments.

The case dates back to transactions between 2014 and 2017. Berko was later extradited from the United Kingdom to the United States in July 2024 to face criminal charges after being arrested in Britain in 2022.

Berko previously served as Managing Director of Tema Oil Refinery in 2020 but resigned in April of that year after U.S. bribery allegations against him became public.

The latest verdict represents a dramatic turn from those earlier allegations: Berko has now been found guilty by a federal jury.

U.S. authorities say he faces up to 30 years in prison when sentenced. He was ordered into custody pending sentencing.

The explosive conviction is expected to reignite debate in Ghana over the identities of officials linked to the power deal and whether further accountability could follow.