Accra: With the investigative tools and other tradecraft available to the Government of Ghana (GoG), a completed investigation docket must have been ready by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) or other law enforcement agencies in respect of the criminal aspects of the Asante Berko-AKSA-Ghana bribery deal before the National Democratic Congress (NDC) won the December 2024 elections. The electorate is questioning why there has been no prosecution of the Ghanaian entities and individuals involved in the case, especially as the United States Government had already prosecuted Asante Berko in a US court.
According to Ghana Web, it is perplexing to the public that the Attorney-General has only now informed them that the government is collaborating with United States counterparts to address the bribery scheme linked to the 2014-2017 power plant contract between a Turkish energy company and the GoG. The GoG should not rely on the US legal system to act first before taking steps to hold its own officials accountable.
On 13 April 2020, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (US-SEC) initiated civil proceedings against Asante Kwaku Berko for his involvement in a bribery scheme intended to benefit a Turkish energy company. Berko was later convicted on 6 August 2026. The OSP had access to the civil case from its inception, yet the case has seemingly vanished from its investigation list.
The US-SEC complaint detailed how Berko facilitated bribery payments to Ghanaian officials to secure a power purchase agreement. Despite these serious allegations, Berko transitioned from being implicated in the scheme to being appointed as Managing Director of the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) under the Akufo-Addo government, only resigning after the civil case surfaced.
The OSP began investigating the case in April 2020, in collaboration with the FBI office in Ghana, but progress stalled after the resignation of the Special Prosecutor in November 2020. The investigation was inherited by subsequent OSP officials but has since disappeared from public records.
The electorate and political commentators are critical of the Attorney-General's selective prosecution practices, which appear to be politically motivated. When prosecutions are halted for government allies while adversaries face trial, public trust in impartial governance is eroded.
The unresolved status of the Asante Berko-AKSA-Ghana bribery investigation remains a significant point of contention. The public demands transparency and accountability from President Mahama's administration, urging it to fulfill its electoral promise of impartial governance and anti-corruption measures.
The Ghanaian electorate is astute and expects its leaders to uphold ethical governance without succumbing to political deception. The call for a thorough and unbiased investigation into the AKSA bribery deal continues, pressing the Mahama government to match its rhetoric with decisive action.