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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."

Judge Bourne also concluded that preventing the case from being heard in the U.S., where it is ready for trial, would cause a delay that would go against the interests of justice.

Berko faces six counts of violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and failure to file reports of foreign bank accounts. He was arrested at Heathrow Airport in November 2022.

Berko appealed to the High Court after a judge at Westminster Magistrates' Court dismissed challenges to his extradition in June 2023. However, Judge Bourne concluded that Berko would not be extradited on charges of failing to report foreign accounts, as there was no equivalent offense in U.K. law.

In November 2022, Berko paid $329,000 to settle allegations by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that he helped funnel approximately $2.5 million in bribes to Ghanaian government officials to secure a contract for a power plant. The settlement did not involve an admission of wrongdoing, and the U.S. Department of Justice pursued Berko separately.

U.S. prosecutors allege that Berko helped a Turkish energy company in carrying out the scheme, which involved paying off members of Parliament and senior government officials in Ghana through a shell company based there.

Berko was hired by Goldman Sachs U.K. in July 2014 and was enlisted to drum up deals in Ghana, which at the time was fast-tracking energy projects to overcome power shortages, according to the SEC. Authorities alleged that he used his contacts in Ghana to arrange meetings between top government officials and the Turkish energy company’s executives to discuss the project. Berko also brought in the shell company’s operators, who had access to key government agencies, the SEC said.

Berko is represented by Rachel Scott of Three Raymond Buildings, instructed by Chris Stevens of CJS Defence.

The U.S. government is represented by Nicholas Hearn of Furnival Chambers.

The case is Berko v. U.S., case number AC-2023-LON-002540.