The New Patriotic Party USA Branch has challenged Ghana’s anti-corruption and law enforcement institutions to take concrete action following the conviction in the United States of former Goldman Sachs executive Asante Kwaku Berko in a bribery case involving Ghanaian officials.

In a satirical commentary issued by its Communications team, NPP-USA questioned what it described as Ghana’s limited response to the case after a federal jury in Brooklyn convicted Mr Berko on charges including conspiracy to violate the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, substantive FCPA violations and money laundering conspiracy.

The group said the conviction should prompt the Office of the Attorney-General, the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) and the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) to pursue the Ghanaian dimension of the case.

The group said the US proceedings had established a detailed trail involving alleged bribe payments, shell companies, sham invoices and financial transfers linked to efforts to secure a power plant contract for Turkish energy company Aksa Enerji.

It questioned why Ghana should not use the evidence that emerged from the US trial to advance its own investigations and determine whether any Ghanaian officials or intermediaries violated the country’s laws.

NPP-USA also questioned claims by Ghana’s Deputy Attorney-General that Ghanaian authorities had collaborated with their US counterparts in bringing implicated persons to justice.

It argued that while international cooperation was important, the US prosecution had ultimately produced the arrest, trial and conviction, leaving Ghana with the responsibility to pursue any offences falling within its jurisdiction.

“Collaboration,” the group said, had become “a word doing more gymnastics than an Azumah Nelson comeback fight,” arguing that Ghana should not merely observe proceedings abroad and treat the outcome as the end of the matter.

The group specifically challenged EOCO and the OSP to examine the evidence presented in the US case, including the financial transactions and companies allegedly used to facilitate the payments. It argued that the US trial had provided Ghanaian investigators with substantial information that could assist domestic investigations.

“Nobody said go back, take a seat, and admire what was done in New York,” the group said, urging Ghanaian authorities to use the information available to pursue accountability at home.

NPP-USA, however, cautioned against presuming the guilt of individuals who have not been convicted by a Ghanaian court. It noted that the US Department of Justice had referred to “the Ghanaian Minister of Power” without publicly identifying the individual and said any Ghanaian proceedings must therefore be based on independent investigations and due process.

The group said the central issue was not merely Mr Berko’s conviction but whether Ghanaian institutions would pursue the wider allegations connected to the case. It argued that accountability should not depend on foreign authorities doing the investigative work before Ghanaian institutions act.

“The joke is on any institution that watches someone else do the work and calls it closure,” NPP-USA said.

It concluded with a metaphor drawn from the “holy rain” reference that emerged during the US trial, saying the first rain represented alleged bribes while the second represented accountability delivered through the Brooklyn proceedings.

The group said Ghana should now ensure that accountability also follows the case home, rather than leaving the country waiting for justice to arrive from abroad.