TOR MD Hot! …Over MP’s Bribery Allegation

The Managing Director of the Tema Oil Refinery, Asante Berko is in hot waters following a charge by the Securities and Exchange Commission of the United States of America for arranging at least $2.5 million in bribes to be paid to Ghana government officials to gain approval for a power plant project.

The bribes were allegedly arranged by Mr. Berko when he was an executive director with the US bank, Goldman Sachs. He was appointed Managing Director of the Tema Oil Refinery in January 2020, replacing Isaac Osei, who resigned.

Charge

A statement released on Monday by the US Security and Exchanges Commission said it had “charged a former executive of a financial services company with orchestrating a bribery scheme to help a client to win a government contract to build and operate an electrical power plant in Ghana in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).”

The SEC’s complaint alleges that Mr. Berko, a former executive of a foreign-based subsidiary of a U.S. bank holding company, arranged for his firm’s client, a Turkish energy company, to funnel at least $2.5 million to a Ghana-based intermediary to pay illicit bribes to Ghanaian government officials in order to gain their approval of an electrical power plant project.

The complaint further alleges that Berko helped the intermediary pay more than $200,000 in bribes to various other government officials, and Berko personally paid $66,000 to members of the Ghanaian parliament and other government officials.

According to the complaint, Berko took deliberate measures to prevent his employer, Goldman Sachs, from detecting his bribery scheme, including misleading his employer’s compliance personnel about the true role and purpose of the intermediary company.

Chief of the SEC Enforcement Division’s FCPA Unit, Charles Cain said, “As alleged in our complaint, Berko orchestrated a scheme to bribe high-level Ghanaian officials in pursuit of firm business and his own enrichment. Berko’s misconduct was egregious and individual accountability remains a key component to our FCPA enforcement efforts,”

He said, “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’s complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, charges Berko with violating the anti-bribery provisions of the FCPA and federal securities laws.

The SEC is seeking monetary penalties against Berko among other remedies.

The SEC’s case is being handled by Asita Obeyesekere and Paul G. Block of the FCPA Unit and Kathleen Shields, Mark Albers, and Marty Healey of the Boston Regional Office.

Denials

Berko has denied the allegation of arranging the said bribes.

The former banker in a statement clarified that although the US SEC had initiated proceedings against him, allegations that he bribed government officials and MPs are completely false.

“While it is true that the SEC has just this week issued such proceedings against me, the allegations that government officials and members of Parliament were bribed by me are completely false.”

“I state categorically that I have not paid any bribes to government officials, Members of Parliament nor any officials of Parliament. I have had no contact with Members of Parliament nor officials of Parliament, regarding the approval of this transaction,” he said in the statement.