Jury convicts ex-Goldman Sachs banker for over $1 million in bribes for Ghana power deal

Ex-Goldman Sachs banker Asante Kwaku Berko was convicted of paying over $1 million in bribes to Ghanaian officials for a power plant deal; he faces up to 30 years. A federal jury in Brooklyn convicted Berko after a nine-day trial. Prosecutors said he and associates bribed Ghana’s power minister and others around 2014, routing payments through shell companies and personal email; the scheme was independent of Goldman Sachs. The bribes were meant to secure approval for a power plant with Ghana’s government and Turkish company Aksa during an energy crisis. Goldman Sachs later withdrew over corruption concerns. Berko was ordered held pending sentencing.