SEC charges former Goldman Sachs exec with ‘egregious’ FCPA violations
The SEC
charged a former Goldman Sachs executive Monday with FCPA violations stemming from
his alleged bribery plot to help a Turkish energy company win a power plant contract in Ghana.
Asante Berko, 46,
who holds both U.S. and Ghanian citizenship and lives in Ghana,
was charged in a civil complaint filed in federal court in New York with violating and aiding and abetting violations of the FCPA anti-bribery provisions.
According to the SEC,
Berko helped the Turkish energy company pay at least $2.5 million to a Ghana-based intermediary, “all or most of which was used to bribe Ghanaian government officials” to secure approval of an electrical power plant project.
Berko was an executive at Goldman Sachs in London, according to reports.
He allegedly resigned in late 2016 but continued helping the Turkish energy company as a consultant after leaving the bank.
In 2015, Berko negotiated a contract for the Turkish energy company
to pay the intermediary $2.5 million at first, and up to $42 million over five years, the complaint said.
The FCPA Blog