KT Hammond denies claims of sharing $46,000 AKSA bribe to Members of Parliament

The claims stem from a US State Department statement announcing the conviction of former Tema Oil Refinery Managing Director, Asante Berko, for paying over $1 million in bribes to Ghanaian officials. The statement indicated that Energy Committee members were given $46,000 to facilitate the deal. Speaking on Citi News on August 10, 2026, KT Hammond, who chaired the committee at the time, denied the claims, stating that he and the committee members could not be influenced by such a sum.

He questioned whether he was "that bloody cheap" and highlighted that the committee's role is to scrutinize and approve deals in the country's interest, not to sell them. He also noted that after committee approval, deals proceed to the full House for final determination. Documents sighted by GhanaWeb on August 10, 2026, detail alleged payments to various individuals and groups, including officials linked to the Ministry of Power, the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission, Parliament, and the project's technical team.

These documents, which include an "Itemised Bribe List," were part of the evidence in Berko's conviction by a federal jury in Brooklyn, New York, on August 6, 2026.