Kwabena Donkor Denies Involvement in AKSA Bribery Scheme, Questions Former TOR MD’s Appointment

Former Energy Minister Dr. Kwabena Donkor has denied allegations linking him to a bribery and money laundering scheme surrounding the procurement of an emergency power plant from Turkish energy company Aksa Enerji Uretim A.S. His comments follow the conviction in the United States of former Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) Managing Director Asante Kwaku Berko over his role in a bribery scheme connected to the same power project. Berko, a dual US-Ghanaian citizen, was convicted by a federal jury in Brooklyn on August 6, 2026, on all counts in an indictment alleging bribery and money laundering. The nine-day trial was held before US District Judge Diane Gujarati in the Eastern District of New York.

According to the US case, Berko and others conspired to pay more than US$1 million in bribes to Ghanaian government officials to secure a multimillion-dollar power plant contract for Aksa Enerji. The alleged scheme relates to a power plant project that was under development and financing between December 2014 and July 2015. Reacting to the allegations in a Facebook post, Dr. Donkor insisted that there was no bidding process in which a government official or minister could have been bribed to secure the contract. “To start with there was no bidding for any official or Minister to be bribed to win a bid,” he stated. He also denied having any dealings with the individual at the centre of the allegations, stressing that the person was not the known agent or local partner of AKSA in Ghana. Dr. Donkor defended the inspection of AKSA’s equipment before it was shipped to Ghana, describing the process as routine practice in the power industry. He also rejected claims that he travelled to Turkey to negotiate the power deal. “I never went to Turkey for any negotiation,” he said. According to the former minister, AKSA’s representatives negotiated directly with the government negotiating team, which comprised representatives from the Ministry of Power, the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), the Attorney-General’s Department and Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo), among others.

Dr. Donkor further maintained that the tariff agreed during the negotiations was favourable to Ghana. He said the tariff was the cheapest among the emergency power plants at the time and was even lower than the tariffs of some existing thermal power plants. “The tariff they negotiated at the time was the cheapest of all the Emergency Power Plants and cheaper than some of the existing thermal plants and so I had no reason not to be satisfied with the work the negotiating team and my officials did,” he said. The former Energy Minister also categorically denied receiving money in connection with the transaction. “Nobody(sic) payment was made to me or received in my name,” he stated. Dr. Donkor, however, raised questions about the subsequent appointment of the individual he says was not AKSA’s recognised agent or local partner in Ghana. He questioned how the individual came to be appointed Managing Director of Tema Oil Refinery after the National Democratic Congress lost power. “How did the said individual, suddenly after NDC lost power become the Managing Director of TOR?” he asked.

Berko served as Managing Director of TOR before leaving the position and later becoming embroiled in the US corruption case. Dr. Donkor’s comments constitute a direct denial of any personal involvement in the alleged bribery scheme and place emphasis on the role of the broader government negotiating team in the AKSA power project. The US conviction of Berko, however, has renewed scrutiny of the circumstances surrounding the project and the individuals involved in its negotiation and implementation.

Story By:Kukua Snead-Michaels