In the latest example of the Trump administration’s retreat from FCPA enforcement (or some still maintain), earlier today Asante Berko (a former Executive Director of Goldman Sachs International) was convicted by a jury of FCPA and related offenses in connection with a Ghana bribery scheme after a trial in the E.D. of New York.
As reported here: “after deliberating for approximately three hours, a jury of four women and eight men found Berko, 52, guilty of violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, conspiracy to do the same, and money laundering conspiracy.”
The trial was believed to be just the 27th FCPA jury trial in the FCPA’s nearly 50 years and the 4th FCPA trial since September 2025.
As discussed in this recent post, the DOJ’s statement of the case was as follows.
“The defendant Asante Kwaku Berko is charged with participating in a scheme to bribe government officials in Ghana. Specifically, the government alleges that between approximately December 2014 and March 2017, Berko, a dual citizen of the United States and Ghana and an Executive Director in the Investment Banking Division at Goldman Sachs, conspired (or agreed) with others to bribe Ghanaian government officials to approve the development and financing of a multi-million-dollar power plant in Ghana. In his role at Goldman Sachs, Berko was responsible for securing and managing a deal between Aksa Enerji Uretim AS (Aksa)—a Turkish energy company that was a client of Goldman Sachs—and the Republic of Ghana, for the construction and financing of a power plant. To finance, build and operate the power plant, Aksa needed, among other things, to secure an emergency power agreement (or EPA) with the government of Ghana, which required approvals from Ghanaian officials and government entities. The government alleges that the defendant and others agreed to bribe Ghanaian officials to obtain these necessary approvals. The government further alleges that payments in furtherance of the bribery scheme were laundered through U.S. bank accounts. Based on these allegations, the defendant is charged in a three-count indictment with conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (also known as the FCPA), violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.”
In this DOJ release, Joseph Nocella, Jr. (U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York) stated:
“Today’s verdict marks another significant victory in this Office’s longstanding commitment to rooting out corruption. The defendant abused his access to high-level foreign government officials and his platform as an investment banker at a prestigious American firm to line his own pockets with millions of dollars.”
Tysen Duva (Assistant Attorney General for the DOJ Criminal Division) stated:
“We live in a global economy that American companies must be able to compete in fairly. This defendant corrupted that fair competition. He abused his position at a world-renowned American investment bank by helping bribe Ghanaian officials, so he and his co-conspirators, including senior executives at a Turkish company, could make money. Today’s conviction makes clear that criminals who undermine our country’s interests by corrupting foreign governments and cutting off fair competition will face the full force of the Department of Justice.”
James Barnacle, Jr. (Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office) stated:
“Today’s verdict highlights the importance of domestic and international partnerships, and the magnitude of success that working together creates. The FBI is thankful for the assistance from the Department of Justice and the United Kingdom – specifically to the Office of International Affairs, U.S. Marshals Service, and INTERPOL – in pursuing justice to protect our country’s financial integrity.”
