Kwabena Donkor
The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has identified Kwabena Donkor, a former Minister of Power under President John Mahama’s first term, and others as persons of interest in ongoing investigations in relation to more than $1 million bribe paid to some Ghanaian officials between 2014 and 2015, in connection with the development of a power plant in Ghana.Ghanaian business news
Mr. Donkor was the Minister of Power when the Government of Ghana was negotiating with Turkish company Aksa Energy to generate more electricity for Ghana during the ongoing power crisis popularly known as dumsor.
Other individuals identified by the OSP as persons of interest include Francis Walkson Kwesi Dzata, then Technical Advisor to the Minister of Power; Solomon Adjetey Sowah, then Deputy Director at the Ministry of Power; Lyndon George Nii Saul Mettle, then a Director at Tricorp Group Limited and Baffour Ankoma Brobbey, an employee at Tricorp Group Limited.
The OSP, in a statement, indicated that other persons of interest include some present and former employees of Volta River Authority, Ghana Grid Company Limited, Electricity Company of Ghana, Public Utilities and Regulatory Commission, and some staff of the entity formerly known as Ministry of Power.
Conviction
A federal jury in Brooklyn has found Asante Kwaku Berko guilty of charges relating to paying more than $1 million in bribes to Ghanaian government officials in connection with the development of a power plant in Ghana.
Court documents indicate how some beneficiaries of the illicit money referred to the expected bribe as “holy rains” and were expecting it “sooner rather than later.”
Berko, 52, faces up to 30 years in prison and has been remanded into lawful custody pending sentencing in November 2026.
Some government officials as well as Members of Parliament were said to have received various sums of monies in the form of bribes from Berko between 2014 and 2017 in connection with the development and financing of a power plant project expected to generate hundreds of millions of dollars in profits.
Several individuals and civil society organisations (CSOs) have called on the Attorney General and state institutions to pursue the matter and ensure Ghanaians involved in the bribery scandal are made to face the law.
Persons of Interest
The OSP has listed former Minister of Power, Kwabena Donkor and other employees of his Ministry and other institutions as persons of interest in ongoing investigations into the Ghanaian aspect of the issues.
The OSP has, however, clarified that a person of interest is not necessarily a suspect, noting that the two categories are distinct investigative classifications and should not be treated as interchangeable.
“Then again, identification in either category does not constitute criminal culpability or conviction until guilt is proved beyond reasonable doubt to the satisfaction of a court of competent jurisdiction,” it pointed out.
The Office has watered down suggestions that it is not the right institution to pursue the Ghanaian dimension of the case, pointing to the role it played in the successful conviction of Asante Kwaku Berko in the United States.Ghanaian business news
“This begs the obvious – the institution which provided significant assistance to the successful prosecution of Berko in the United States lacks the capability and track record to investigate the Ghana dimension; and other institutions, which were not even involved in the matter, are more competent than the OSP?” the statement pondered.
The OSP acknowledged that the fight against corruption is not a competition between institutions or pitching one public agency against the other.
“At the OSP we reckon that the anti-corruption drive is better served through cooperation and collaboration among public institutions,” it added.
Kwabena Donkor’s Denial
Kwabena Donkor has already distanced himself from any involvement in the bribery scandal that led to the conviction of the former Managing Director of Tema Oil Refinery (TOR), Asante Kwaku Berko in the United States.
Mr. Donkor, in a statement issued by his legal team, indicated that he has never met the former Goldman Sachs banker, neither demanded money from him nor received any personal benefit connected with the negotiations.
“Our client instructs us in very crystal clear language that he has absolutely no knowledge about the allegations linked to him. He completely and emphatically denies any knowledge of a request or demand for any money as alleged,” the statement said.
EOCO Probe
Meanwhile, the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) says it has commenced the process of intensifying its investigation into the Ghanaian dimension of the bribery scandal.
EOCO, in a statement, said it is also tracing assets, where appropriate, of individuals named in US investigations and court proceedings that led to the conviction of Berko, who was found guilty of bribing some government officials and Members of Parliament between 2014 and 2017.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak
