Transparency International Ghana Executive Director Mary Addah says the Office of the Special Prosecutor’s (OSP) decision to name persons of interest in the Ghanaian dimension of the Asante Kweku Berko bribery case is a positive step towards accountability.

Speaking on Joy FM’s Top Story on Wednesday, August 26, Madam Addah stressed that being named a person of interest does not imply guilt and should not be interpreted as a finding of wrongdoing.

She said publicly identifying the individuals who were in positions of authority during the period under investigation helps provide clarity on who was responsible for supervising the issues surrounding the AKSA deal.

"As indicated, being a person of interest doesn't make you guilty. So naming you as a person of interest doesn't count or take away from you.

“So it's a good step in the accountability drive because we've been asking ourselves, so who are these persons who are supposed to have presided over the issues and the concentration when it comes to the AKSA? Now, without a doubt, we know these were the people who were superintending,” she said.

Her comments follow the OSP’s identification of former Power Minister Kwabena Donkor and four others as its main persons of interest in its investigation into the Ghanaian dimension of the case.

The other persons named are Francis Walkson Kwesi Gyata, a former technical adviser to the Minister of Power; Solomon Adjetey Sowah, a former deputy director at the Ministry of Power; Lindin George Nii Mettle, a former director at Tricop Group Limited; and Baffour Ankomah Brobbey, an employee of Tricop Group Limited.

The development follows the conviction of Asante Kweku Berko by a federal jury in Brooklyn, New York, on August 3, 2026, over a bribery scheme involving more than US$1 million.

Berko, a dual citizen of Ghana and the United States and former Managing Director of the Tema Oil Refinery, was convicted over allegations that he conspired to pay bribes to multiple Ghanaian officials between 2014 and 2015.

The alleged payments were linked to the development and financing of a 370-megawatt fuel oil plant in Tema under an agreement involving the Government of Ghana, Turkish energy company AXA Energy Eratim and Goldman Sachs.

Mr Agyebeng said the OSP had provided investigative and evidentiary assistance to the US Federal Bureau of Investigation through Ghana’s mutual legal assistance framework.

He added that the US Department of Justice had acknowledged the OSP’s assistance in the successful prosecution.

Ms Addah said whether the persons named by the OSP bear responsibility beyond their roles as persons of interest must be determined through the investigative process.

“As to whether it elevates them beyond that, it's an issue that the investigative bodies bring attention to,” she said.