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A Deputy General Secretary of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), Haruna Mohammed, has criticized the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) for what he describes as a “lazy job” in its investigation into the Airbus bribery scandal.
In an interview on JoyNews’ The Pulse on Thursday, August 8, he argued that the OSP should have sought the court ruling from the UK, which referred to former President John Mahama as “Government Official 1,” given the shared legal framework under common law.
He further elaborated that a thorough examination of the UK court’s judgement, which includes the opinions and legal references of the judges, could have provided the necessary evidence to build a stronger case.
“The OSP has done a lazy job because you can’t conclude by saying that you don’t have all the facts at hand; hence you cannot prosecute the case. Did he go to ask for the judgement? What was the material used in the judgement in the UK? Has he been denied the judgement?” Mohammed questioned.
This follows the Office of the Special Prosecutor clearing former President John Mahama of any corruption allegations in the Airbus bribery scandal.
Special Prosecutor Kissi Agyebeng stated in a press conference on Thursday, August 8, that the investigation found “no evidence” of bribery involving Mr Mahama or his UK-based brother, Adam Mahama. The inquiry also confirmed that the procurement processes for the Military Aircraft adhered to all the necessary standards.
But the Deputy NPP General Secretary insists that the OSP did “shoddy work” and could have pursued further evidence to advance the investigation.
Despite his criticisms, Mohammed affirmed that the investigation has confirmed the link between Mahama, identified as “Government Official 1,” and corruption issues related to the Airbus scandal.
He noted that this connection strengthens the NPP’s stance, emphasizing that “crime has no expiring date,” and that the case can be pursued at any time.
Mohammed also mentioned that the NPP’s lawyers will review the OSP’s report and that the party is satisfied with the identification of John Mahama as “Government Official 1.”
“The NPP will state our position but we are very happy that the government official one is clearly John Mahama,” he added.
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.
Ghana bought three Military Airplanes – C295s – from Airbus. The nation received its first C295 in November 2011. The second aircraft was obtained in April 2012 and the third in November 2015.
The deals covering them were argued at the time to align with the 2009-2012 Strategic Plan of the Ghana Armed Forces.
In court documents and hearings in the UK and the US, 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.
