A
dual
citizen
of
the
United
States
and
Ghana
will
appear
in
the
Eastern
District
of
New
York
to
face
charges
related
to
his
participation
in
a
scheme
to
bribe
Ghanaian
officials
to
obtain
and
retain
business
from
the
Republic
of
Ghana.
Asante
Kwaku
Berko,
50,
was
extradited
on
Monday,
July
15,
from
the
United
Kingdom
to
the
United
States.
According
to
court
documents,
between
December
2014
and
March
2017,
Berko,
an
executive
director
in
the
Investment
Banking
Division
of
a
wholly
owned
subsidiary
of
a
U.S.
global
investment
banking,
securities,
and
investment
management
firm,
allegedly
conspired
with
others
in
connection
with
a
multi-year
bribery
and
money
laundering
scheme.
During
this
time,
Berko
was
a
member
of
the
team
at
the
firm
that
was
responsible
for
securing
and
managing
a
deal
between
its
client,
a
Turkish
energy
company,
and
the
Republic
of
Ghana
to
build
a
power
plant
in
Ghana
and
to
provide
financing
for
the
plant.
Berko
and
others
allegedly
offered
and
paid
more
than
$70,000
in
bribes
to
government
officials
in
Ghana
in
exchange
for
their
assistance
in
ensuring
that
the
Turkish
energy
company
was
successful
in
winning
the
bid
to
build
and
operate
the
power
plant.
Berko
is
charged
with
one
count
of
conspiring
to
violate
the
Foreign
Corrupt
Practices
Act
(FCPA),
one
count
of
violating
the
FCPA,
and
one
count
of
conspiring
to
commit
money
laundering.
If
convicted,
he
faces
a
maximum
penalty
of
20
years
in
prison
for
conspiring
to
commit
money
laundering
and
five
years
in
prison
for
each
count
of
violating
the
FCPA
and
conspiring
to
violate
the
FCPA.
Principal
Deputy
Assistant
Attorney
General
Nicole
M.
Argentieri,
head
of
the
Justice
Department’s
Criminal
Division;
U.S.
Attorney
Breon
Peace
for
the
Eastern
District
of
New
York;
and
Executive
Assistant
Director
Michael
Nordwall
of
the
FBI’s
Criminal,
Cyber,
Response,
and
Services
Branch
made
the
announcement.
The
FBI’s
International
Corruption
Unit
is
investigating
the
case.
Trial
Attorney
Elina
A.
Rubin-Smith
of
the
Criminal
Division’s
Fraud
Section
and
Assistant
U.S.
Attorneys
Alixandra
Smith,
Tara
McGrath,
and
Jessica
Weigel
for
the
Eastern
District
of
New
York
are
prosecuting
the
case.
The
Justice
Department’s
Office
of
International
Affairs
worked
with
the
Government
of
the
United
Kingdom,
U.K.
National
Central
Bureau
of
INTERPOL,
and
U.S.
Marshals
Service
to
secure
the
arrest
and
extradition
of
Berko.
The
Criminal
Division’s
Fraud
Section
is
responsible
for
investigating
and
prosecuting
FCPA
matters.
Additional
information
about
the
Justice
Department’s
FCPA
enforcement
efforts
can
be
found
at
www.justice.gov/criminal/fraud/fcpa.
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