Airbus scandal: No evidence Mahama received bribes – OSP
The Office of the Special Prosecutor has exonerated former President John Mahama from any acts of corruption in the controversial Airbus bribery scandal.
In 2020, former Special Prosecutor Martin Amidu accused Mr Mahama as the mysterious ‘Government Official 1’ in the scandal that trailed the procurement of aircraft from manufacturer Airbus for the Government of Ghana.
Despite refuting the accusation, members of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) have maintained that the former president was involved in the bribery scandal.
Four years on, the current Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyebeng has set the records straight in his latest update on the Airbus bribery scandal, saying neither the former president nor his UK-based brother, Adam Mahama, were bribed.
At a press conference on Thursday, Mr Agyebeng said his outfit upon investigating the case found “no evidence” of corruption against the former President.
Background
Ghana is one of five countries in which the European aviation giant, Airbus, paid or attempted to pay millions of dollars in bribes in exchange for contracts, leading a court in Britain to slap a fine of £5 billion on the company.
In court documents and hearings, Airbus admitted five counts of failing to prevent bribery, using a network of secret agents to pay large-scale backhanders to officials in foreign countries, including Ghana, to land high-value contracts.
According to the report, there are six key actors involved in the scandal regarding Ghana.
Investigators from the UK’s SFO identified them only as Government Official 1 (high ranking and elected), Intermediary 5 (British national and close relative of Government Official 1), Company D (corporate vehicle for Intermediary 5 – shareholder), Intermediary 6 (British national and associate of Intermediary 5), Intermediary 7 (British national and associate of Intermediary 5), as well as Intermediary 8 (Spanish company and front for Intermediary 5).
Other British citizens; Philip Sean Middlemiss; Sarah Davis and Sarah Furneaux are connected to the case for their roles in the scandal.
