OSP clears former Prez Mahama of any wrongdoing in Airbus scandal

The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has cleared former president John Dramani Mahama from involving in any wrongdoing after an extensive investigation into the Airbus Bribery Scandal.

Special Prosecutor Kissi Agyebeng reached this conclusion after a comprehensive four-year investigation conducted by his office.

However, he revealed that former President John Dramani Mahama was ‘Government Official 1’ in the Airbus bribery scandal.

Airbus, a European aviation giant, was involved in a global bribery scandal, paying or attempting to pay millions of dollars in bribes in five countries, including Ghana, to secure contracts. As a result, a British court fined Airbus £5 billion. The company admitted to using secret agents to bribe foreign officials, including those in Ghana.

The scandal in Ghana involves six key actors identified by the UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO). These include a high-ranking government official, a British relative of the official, and several intermediaries and companies that acted as fronts for the bribery.

Additionally, British citizens Philip Sean Middlemiss, Sarah Davis, and Sarah Furneaux were linked to the case.

In a media briefing in Accra, Mr. Agyebeng clarified that disclosing the identities involved in the scandal and the details of the investigation was crucial due to the significant public interest in the matter.

“The individual described as Government Official One by the UK court and Individual One by the US court is John Dramani Mahama. He is a citizen of Ghana, he was the Vice President of Ghana from 7th January 2009 to 2012.

“The President of Ghana from 2012 to 7th January 2017. His tenure of office as the Vice President coincided with the time frame of the UK and US investigation of the first Airbus campaign into the sale of 2C295 aircraft to Ghana.

“His term of office as the President of Ghana occurred during the UK-US investigation time frame of the second Airbus campaign for the sale of 1C29 aircraft to Ghana,” he stated.

Despite the revelation of John Mahama as Government Official One, Kissi Agyebeng exonerated the former president stating that he had good intentions in the procurement of the aircraft for the country.

“The OSP investigation found no evidence that former President Mahama was involved or played any role in the procurement and maintenance of the agency relationship between Airbus and Foster and his associates in respect of the purchase by the Government of Ghana of military transport aircraft from Airbus.

“And it appears to the OSP that the direct communications and meetings between former President Mahama and officials of Airbus to close the deal were actuated by good intentions on the part of the former,” said Agyebeng.