TOR MD bribery scandal: Not a dime came to anyone – Muntaka

Minority Chief Whip of Parliament, Alhaji Muntaka Mubarak has denied bribery allegations that some MPs accepted cash from the former Managing Director of the Tema Oil Refinery to approve a power-related agreement in 2015.

Muntaka, who served as a member of the Energy Committee during the Mills-led government from 2015 – 2016 claimed the reports were untrue.

“Not a dime came to anyone.” He vehemently denied in an interview with Joy News.

His comments come on the back of allegations reported by the US Securities and Exchange Commission that the former TOR MD, Asante Berko, had arranged bribes for a Turkish energy company to funnel between US$3 million to US$4.5 million to the intermediary company where he paid more than US$200,000 in bribes to various other government officials for approving a Power Plant Project.

Adding, he personally also paid more than US$60,000 to members of Ghana’s parliament to gain further approval for the project.

US SEC says Asante Berko took deliberate measures to prevent his employer from detecting the bribery scheme and is said to be in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).

But the Asawase MP further maintained that although Berko had a meeting with the committee, he never met nor accepted money from the accused.

According to Muntaka, the only time he saw the indicted TOR MD was when news of his alleged criminal act surfaced on various news portals.

In the interview, he noted, “I’ve been a member of the energy committee, if my memory serves me right, since President Mills but I don’t know him. I’ve been hearing his name, he’s the CEO of TOR now and he’s supposed to have met the committee but to be very frank with you, I don’t get to attend frequently the committee meeting.”

The same meetings I’ve attended in their reviews, I can’t remember seeing him there. I’m seeing his face for the first time when this news broke out and it’s been published. Obviously, I haven’t been in the leadership all these years but as a member, I can tell you that not a dime came through anybody,” he reiterated.

Although he has vacated his post, Asante Berko has denied all allegations describing them as “false.”

In his words, “I state categorically that I have not paid any bribes to government officials, Members of Parliament nor any officials of Parliament.

“I have had no contact with Members of Parliament nor officials of Parliament, regarding the approval of this transaction,” he wrote in the statement.