A lawyer for a former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. banker told a federal judge that he has asked the US to drop its foreign bribery case, citing an executive order from President Donald Trump.
Asante Berko’s lawyer, Robert Boone, said at a hearing Thursday that he sent the government a letter formally requesting a dismissal. Berko was indicted in 2020 and accused of conspiring with at least two Ghana officials in a bribery scheme on behalf of an unidentified Goldman client.
The request comes after Trump issued an executive order rolling back enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which he has said puts American companies at a disadvantage to their competitors overseas. Since then, the Justice Department has been evaluating FCPA prosecutions and dropped a case in New Jersey.
Prosecutor Tara McGrath told US District Judge Diane Gujarati that “we are discussing the request” and “the decision is being made above our pay grade.”
Berko was arrested at Heathrow Airport in London in 2022. He unsuccessfully fought extradition to the US, and pleaded not guilty to the charges last year.
Gujarati urged both sides to send her a letter if a decision is made to drop the case, saying, “I don’t want to be deciding motions if there’s no need.”
John Marzulli, a spokesman for US Attorney John Durham, declined to comment after court, as did Boone. Tony Fratto, a spokesman at Goldman Sachs, declined to comment.
In April 2020, Berko resigned as the head of Ghana’s state-owned oil refinery after U.S. regulators sued him for allegedly orchestrating bribes while he was an employee of the lender. He later settled the case by agreeing to pay more than $329,000, without admitting or denying the allegations.
The case is US v Berko, 20-cr-328, US District Court, Eastern District of New York .
With assistance from Sabrina Willmer.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
