A former Goldman Sachs banker has lost his bid to avoid extradition to the United States for allegedly bribing Ghanaian officials, as a London court ruled on Friday that the alleged crimes were sufficiently linked to America to be tried there.
The High Court rejected the appeal by Asante Berko, a former executive director in Goldman’s natural-resources group, to avoid standing trial in the U.S. Berko is accused of corrupting officials in connection with proposals to construct a power plant in the West African country.
Judge Charles Bourne held that the alleged crimes were strongly linked to harm to Goldman Sachs, a U.S. financial institution, and to the U.S. financial system more broadly, even though most of that harm would have occurred in Ghana and some in the U.K.
“Some harm from the alleged offending would have occurred in the U.S.A.,” Judge Bourne said in a written judgment. “There was (or was alleged to be) misuse of the U.S. banking system, and there would be reputational damage to Goldman Sachs Group.”
