Asante Berko, a former Goldman Sachs Group executive, has been brought from the United Kingdom to New York to face charges related to alleged bribery in Ghana.
Berko arrived in the U.S. and pleaded not guilty Tuesday afternoon at a federal court in Brooklyn. He was released on a $600,000 bond under strict conditions, including house arrest with electronic monitoring at his sister-in-law’s residence in Manhattan. Berko is scheduled to appear in court again for a conference on August 14.
Berko holds dual citizenship in the United States and Ghana. The charges against him stem from accusations that he paid bribes to Ghanaian officials during his tenure at Goldman Sachs. The allegations involve securing a contract for a multi-million-dollar power plant project in Ghana, using U.S. banks to facilitate illicit payments.
According to the indictment, Berko and his associates allegedly paid substantial sums to Ghanaian officials to ensure a favourable outcome for their client, a Turkish energy company involved in the power plant development.
The investigation is led by the FBI’s International Corruption Unit. The unit has revealed detailed exchanges and transactions that implicated Berko in money laundering and violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).
If convicted, Berko could face up to 20 years in prison for money laundering and five years for each bribery charge. The FBI and U.S. Attorney’s office are handling the case. Both authorities have emphasised that Berko is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
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