President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo Wednesday accepted the resignation of Mr Asante Berko, the embattled Managing Director of the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR).
Mr Berko tendered his resignation on Wednesday, April 15, 2020 to the President, according to statement issued by the Presidency.
The President thanked him for his service to the country and wished him well in his endeavours.
The Financial Time, a leading global business publication, reported Monday, Arpil 13, 2020, that Mr Asante Berko had been accused of ‘foreign bribery scheme’ by the United States’ Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
According to the report, the SEC alleged that Berko a former banker with Goldman Sachs, a global investment banking, securities and management firm “helped pass millions to Ghanaian officials to curry favour for clients”.
The SEC in a complaint filed in New York, alleged that Berko funneled some 2.5 million dollars as bribes to Ghanaian officials to secure an agreement for a Turkish Independent Power Producer to build an electrical power plant.
It said Berko “took deliberate measures to prevent his employer from detecting bribery schemes” between 2015 and 2016 when he worked there.
But Mr Asante Berko has denied the accusation, saying those allegations against him were “completely false”.
“I state categorically that I have not paid any bribes to government officials, members of parliament nor any officials of Parliament. I have had no contact with Members of Parliament nor officials of Parliament regarding the approval of the transaction,” he said in a statement on Tuesday, April 14, 2020.
