The Member of Parliament for Manhyia South, Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah, has called for a public inquiry into the Asante Kwaku Berko bribery case, saying Ghana must examine why foreign law enforcement agencies sometimes uncover alleged corruption involving Ghanaian officials before domestic institutions do.
The NPP MP said the conviction of former Goldman Sachs banker Asante Kwaku Berko in the United States should serve as an opportunity for Ghana to assess the effectiveness of its security and anti-corruption institutions.
Speaking on Joy FM’s News Night on Thursday, August 13, 2026, Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah argued that the Berko case should not be treated as an isolated incident.
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“We are dealing with a gentleman who has been convicted in the United States of America for paying bribes to persons in authority. This is not the first time this is happening in the Republic of Ghana. It has happened over and over again,” he said.
Berko bribery conviction
A federal jury in Brooklyn, New York, convicted Asante Kwaku Berko on August 6, 2026, over his involvement in a scheme involving more than US$1 million in alleged bribes to Ghanaian officials linked to the development and financing of a power plant.
Berko, a dual Ghanaian-American citizen and former executive director in the investment banking division of Goldman Sachs, had been involved in securing and managing an agreement between the Ghanaian government and Turkish energy company Aksa Enerji Uretim A.S.
According to US prosecutors, the scheme involved discussions over payments to Ghanaian officials to facilitate approvals for the power project. The US Department of Justice also said Ghanaian officials received payments during a trip to Turkey to inspect equipment for the proposed plant.
The conviction has renewed calls for Ghanaian authorities to investigate the local aspects of the case and establish whether officials allegedly connected to the scheme received illicit payments.
Anti-corruption institutions
Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah said the case raises a broader question about the effectiveness of Ghana’s domestic institutions responsible for detecting and investigating corruption.
“The fundamental question that we have to answer, all of us, is, why is it that domestic security agencies keep missing this point, but international agencies are the ones that are getting this exposed?” he asked.
He said Ghana could not afford to ignore the issue because repeated revelations by foreign authorities could damage the country’s international reputation.
“Are we saying that we should leave it and let it go without dealing with it so that Ghana will be continuously embarrassed on the international plane?” he asked.
According to the MP, the focus should not only be on individuals who may have benefited from the alleged bribery scheme but also on identifying institutional weaknesses that allowed the matter to be uncovered through a foreign investigation.
Public inquiry
The Manhyia South MP is advocating a public inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the power project and the alleged bribery scheme.
He said the inquiry should be treated as a national exercise rather than a political initiative designed to benefit the opposition.
“My question to you is, does the minority have any idea who the cited relative of then President John Mahama could be? We are asking for the inquiry. It is not something which should be to the benefit of merely the minority but the whole of Ghana,” he said.
Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah said a public inquiry could help establish what happened, examine the conduct of state institutions and identify weaknesses in Ghana’s anti-corruption framework.
“How do we get it done? It is through a public inquiry,” he said.
He added that the purpose should go beyond punishing individuals.
“Because you see, it is not merely to have people punished. It is also to look at our institutions, institutions of state, and how they do not, how they are not able to, you know, deal with or discover these matters.”
OSP assistance
The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has disclosed that it provided investigative and evidentiary assistance to the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) during the Berko investigation under Ghana’s mutual legal assistance framework.
The OSP said the US Department of Justice acknowledged that Ghana’s assistance made a “significant” contribution to the prosecution.
The Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Dr Dominic Ayine, has also indicated that Ghanaian authorities will cooperate with their US counterparts in investigating the Ghanaian side of the case.
The developments could pave the way for further investigations into the alleged payments and the identities and conduct of any Ghanaian officials who may have been involved.
Berko is scheduled to be sentenced by the US court on November 10, 2026.