BY Nadia Ntiamoah
The conviction of former Goldman Sachs banker and former Tema Oil Refinery Managing Director Asante Kwaku Berko in the United States has reopened a politically explosive chapter in the troubled power procurement history, with the opposition New Patriotic Party demanding immediate action against Ghanaians allegedly linked to the case and a former Member of Parliament, K.T. Hammond, mounting a defence of former Power Minister Dr Kwabena Donkor.
At the centre of the controversy is the long-running bribery case surrounding the development of the Aksa power project in Ghana and allegations that millions of dollars were channelled as bribes to influence Ghanaian officials and secure approvals for the project.
The latest development has created a sharp political and legal divide. While the NPP says the evidence emerging from the United States proceedings provides enough information for Ghanaian authorities to act against persons named in the case, the government’s anti-graft agency, the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), says the US conviction of Berko does not automatically establish criminal liability against anyone in Ghana whose name may have appeared in the proceedings.
EOCO has consequently commenced its own investigation into the Ghanaian dimension of the matter, including efforts to trace funds and assets potentially connected to the alleged criminal conduct.
The opposition NPP has rejected the idea that Ghana should simply begin the matter from scratch.
Speaking about the development, NPP Deputy General Secretary Haruna Mohammed argued that the proceedings in the United States had already produced sufficient information to enable Ghanaian authorities to identify and pursue persons allegedly implicated.
His argument is that the names and circumstances emerging from the American proceedings should provide a roadmap for immediate enforcement rather than become the basis for what he considers another prolonged investigation.
“People are named. These are known people. They should go and deal with them. But we have been told that they are going to investigate. Investigate what?” he asked.
He further challenged President John Dramani Mahama to demonstrate greater decisiveness in dealing with corruption allegations.
“So these are the matters confronting the nation. President Mahama, if you have failed, just resign and let us live on. That is what we are expecting him to do,” Mohammed said.
The NPP’s position puts pressure on the government to explain precisely what information it has received from the United States, what individuals have been identified and whether any Ghanaian official will face investigation, asset recovery proceedings, prosecution or administrative sanctions.
EOCO has taken a more cautious position.
The anti-graft agency has confirmed that it has begun investigating the Ghanaian side of the case and is seeking to trace funds and assets that may be linked to the alleged bribery scheme.
However, it has stressed an important legal distinction: the conviction of Berko in the United States does not automatically establish that every Ghanaian whose name appears in the evidence committed a crime.
Individuals identified through evidence obtained from the US proceedings must be assessed independently under Ghanaian law.
That position means that while the American proceedings may provide evidence, leads and documentary trails, Ghanaian prosecutors would still have to establish the elements of any offence against an individual before that person could properly be prosecuted in Ghana.
EOCO’s investigation is therefore expected to examine the money trail, communications, transactions, contracts and decisions surrounding the power project.
The controversy goes back to Ghana’s power crisis
The roots of the matter lie in the period when Ghana was battling a severe electricity crisis popularly known as dumsor.
It was during this period that Ghana pursued additional power generation capacity and the Aksa Energy project became part of the country’s efforts to address the electricity deficit.
Berko, a former Goldman Sachs banker, was accused by US prosecutors of participating in a bribery and money-laundering scheme linked to efforts by a Turkish energy company to secure a power plant deal in Ghana.
US prosecutors alleged that Berko and associates arranged payments to Ghanaian officials in connection with the project.
The US Department of Justice previously said the alleged scheme involved payments to Ghanaian officials and the use of US and foreign bank accounts to move funds. It also alleged that, during an April 2015 trip to Turkey to inspect equipment for the power plant, five Ghanaian officials received US$5,000 each.
The US authorities also alleged that after the power project was ratified by Ghana’s Parliament in July 2015, Berko and associates exchanged communications concerning alleged bribe payments.
The case eventually moved from an allegation against an individual banker to a much wider question about the Ghanaian officials and intermediaries who may have been involved.
K.T. Hammond enters the fray
One of the most politically significant responses has come from former Adansi Asokwa MP K.T. Hammond, who is representing Dr Kwabena Donkor.
Dr Donkor was the Minister responsible for Power in 2015 when the Aksa project was under consideration.
His position within government has consequently placed him under scrutiny following the US proceedings.
But Hammond insists that there is no evidence establishing that his client received a bribe from Berko.
Speaking on Eyewitness News on Monday, August 10, 2026, Hammond said Dr Donkor acknowledged being the Power Minister at the time but had categorically denied receiving any inducement.
“He instructs me to say that he has never in his life made eye contact with that person,” Hammond said in reference to Berko.
According to the lawyer, Dr Donkor has also denied knowing anything about any alleged payment.
“He categorically denies knowing anything about any form of inducement, any money, dollars, cedis, whatever. He has absolutely no clue what is being talked about,” Hammond said.
Hammond challenges the evidence
The former MP and lawyer drew a distinction between evidence that Berko allegedly discussed or intended to make payments and evidence proving that a particular Ghanaian official actually received money.
His argument is that a statement by an accused person that money was intended for another individual does not, by itself, establish that the alleged recipient received or benefited from the money.
Hammond said the US prosecution may have established conduct on Berko’s part for purposes of the American case, but argued that the evidence must be separately examined before accusations of criminality can properly be levelled against individuals in Ghana.
That distinction is likely to become one of the central issues as EOCO examines the evidence emerging from the US proceedings.
The question is no longer simply whether Berko engaged in corrupt conduct.
It is whether Ghanaian investigators can establish, through independent evidence, who allegedly received money, how much was received, what the money was intended to influence and whether the conduct amounted to a criminal offence under Ghanaian law.
What Parliament knew — and what it did not know
Hammond has also rejected suggestions that Parliament or individual MPs received money in connection with the Aksa transaction.
He argued that the agreements came before Parliament because parliamentary approval was required as part of the country’s constitutional and legislative processes.
“What we do in Parliament is not a sale of indulgence, sale of documentation or sale of any business. We do our mandated duty of scrutinising documents,” he said.
The defence therefore places emphasis on the distinction between participating in a statutory parliamentary process and receiving an inducement to influence that process.
But that argument is unlikely to end the controversy.
The American case has placed renewed attention on the circumstances surrounding the approval of the power project, the people who interacted with Berko and his associates, and the alleged movement of money during the period.
The “MoP Girls” allegation
Among the details contained in the US case are references to alleged payments involving individuals connected to Ghana’s Ministry of Power.
US prosecutors previously alleged that Berko and his associates discussed a US$250,000 payment in August 2015, including US$20,000 described in communications as being for the “MoP Girls”.
The US Department of Justice said the communications also referred to individuals within Ghana’s Ministry of Power whom an associate described as important to communication and information acquisition.
The significance of those references is now likely to attract renewed attention in Ghana as investigators examine who the individuals were, whether money was actually paid, where it went and whether any public official benefited.
Importantly, allegations contained in the US case should not be treated as proof against people merely because their names or descriptions appear in evidence.
