Former Power Minister Dr Kwabena Donkor has strongly denied any involvement in the bribery allegations surrounding former Goldman Sachs banker Asante Kwaku Berko, insisting that he has never met Mr Berko, demanded money from him or received any personal benefit connected with the power deal.

Dr Donkor’s lawyers, Cavendish Chambers, said their client had “absolutely no knowledge” of the allegations linking him to the US bribery case and had “completely and emphatically” denied any knowledge of a request or demand for money.

The lawyers issued a statement on Monday, August 10, as speculation about the identity of a former Ghanaian Minister of Power named in the US case continued to circulate on social media.

A US federal jury in Brooklyn, New York, convicted Mr Berko on August 6, 2026, in a case involving allegations that he participated in a scheme to bribe Ghanaian government officials to secure a power plant project for Turkish energy company Aksa Enerji Uretim A.S.

US prosecutors said Mr Berko was involved in efforts to secure and manage the deal between Aksa and the Government of Ghana while he was an executive director in Goldman Sachs' investment banking division.

‘I have never met Berko’

In the statement signed by Head of Chambers of the law firm, K.T. Hammond,  Dr Donkor acknowledged that he was the Minister of Power during the period in question, describing that fact as a matter of public record.

He also confirmed that the Ministry of Power negotiated with Aksa Energy for the generation of electricity in Ghana at the height of the country's power crisis, popularly known as dumsor.

According to the lawyers, however, Dr Donkor said the negotiations did not involve any personal arrangement between himself and Mr Berko.

In emphatic terms, the lawyers said their client maintained that:

• “He has never met the said Mr Asante Berko all his life;”
• “He never discussed any personal benefit of any value whatsoever with Mr Asante Berko or any other person for that matter;”
• “He never authorised any person to discuss any such matters on his behalf;”
• “He never received any money in any denomination or any personal benefit of any value from Mr Asante Berko or any other person;” and
• any person who may have made a criminal demand in his name did so for that person's own benefit.

The lawyers said Dr Donkor further maintained that he had not seen any evidence from the US proceedings linking him personally to a demand for or receipt of money.

Turkey trip explained

The former minister also addressed the reported visit to Turkey by Ghanaian officials during the negotiations.

His lawyers said a technical team comprising representatives of the country's electricity-sector stakeholders travelled to Istanbul to inspect the equipment intended for the proposed power generation project.

They described the exercise as a “regular practice of pre-shipment inspection” and stressed that Dr Donkor was not part of any alleged effort to solicit personal benefits from the project.

According to the statement, Dr Donkor said: “According to our client at no point in the course of this negotiation did he once set eyes on the said Mr Asante Berko nor has he since.”

‘Senior Ghana Official’ reference

The lawyers also challenged any attempt to equate references in the US case to a request for money for a “Senior Ghana Official” with evidence that Dr Donkor himself had demanded or received a bribe.

“Our client does not understand that any evidence was led in the US trial which linked him with demanding or receiving any money, cedis or dollars or anything of value to him personally,” the statement said.

“He does not accept that evidence that some other person or persons claimed that they required money from their principals for the benefit of "Senior Ghana Official" or any other title holder metamorphosed into any evidence of criminality or wrong doing against him.”

The US Justice Department's public account of the case has previously said that Berko and co-conspirators discussed paying $1 million to the Ghanaian Minister of Power responsible for securing key approvals for the project. It also separately alleged payments to other Ghanaian officials.

Legal action threat

Cavendish Chambers said its client had instructed the firm to make his position clear to the public and warned that publications or statements that sought to impugn his reputation and integrity would attract legal action.

The lawyers said such conduct “SHALL result in immediate legal proceedings.”

The statement adds a significant new dimension to calls for investigations into the Ghanaian side of the Berko case following his conviction in the United States.

The OSP has disclosed that it provided investigative and evidentiary assistance to the FBI in the prosecution, while Ghanaian authorities have indicated that the local aspects of the case require further examination.

The US case itself concerned allegations of bribery involving Ghanaian officials in connection with the Aksa power project. Mr Berko faces a maximum sentence of 30 years following his conviction.