The Office of John Dramani Mahama has punched President Nana Akufo-Addo, following the ex-President’s exoneration of bribery claims by the Special Prosecutor, William Kissi Agyebeng in the Airbus Scandal.
Joyce Bawah Mogtari, Special Aide to Mr Mahama, in a statement issued, noted that President Nana Akufo-Addo’s order that his predecessor be investigated had cast a “darker shadow on the motives behind the initial accusations, which were planted to tarnish the reputation of an innocent man”.
The Special Prosecutor, yesterday officially closed the investigation into the Airbus scandal, after finding no evidence of criminal conduct by any individuals involved.
This comes after the OSP, exonerated former President John Dramani Mahama and his brother Samuel Mahama of any wrongdoing in the Airbus scandal.
The case involving alleged bribery by Airbus SE in the sale of military transport aircraft to Ghana between 2009 and 2015, has officially been terminated, and no criminal proceedings will be instituted, according to the Special Prosecutor.
The Office of John Dramani Mahama in response, has expressed “profound satisfaction” with the Office of the Special Prosecutor’s (OSP) ruling, which exonerates the former president from allegations in the Airbus ‘scandal’.
The Special Aide to Mr Mahama noted that “The OSP’s ruling reaffirms what we have always known: John Dramani Mahama is a man of integrity, a leader committed to the principles of honesty and transparency.
OSP, has also rescinded arrest warrants and notified INTERPOL of the withdrawal of the Red Notice against four individuals linked to the case.
“The Special Prosecutor has directed the closure of the OSP investigation into alleged bribery of high-ranking Ghanaian officials by Airbus SE, through intermediaries, in respect of the sale of military transport aircraft by Airbus SE to the Republic of Ghana between 2009 and 2015.”
“The OSP would not institute criminal proceedings against any person in respect of this investigation. The Special Prosecutor has also directed authorised officers of the OSP to rescind the 13 May 2020 warrants of arrest obtained from the Circuit Court, Accra for the arrest of Samuel Adam Foster (also known as Samuel Adam Mahama), Philip Sean Middlemiss, Leanne Sarah Davis, and Sarah Furneaux.”
“On 8 August 2024, the Special Prosecutor notified INTERPOL of the withdrawal of the Red Notice in respect of Samuel Adam Foster (also known as Samuel Adam Mahama), Philip Sean Middlemiss, Leanne Sarah Davis, and Sarah Furneaux.”
Mr Mahama’s office in its response stated that “the facts of this case have been available, and the public has observed the machinations behind the scenes—including the disingenuous attempts by the current ruling government to exploit this matter for political gain.
“Despite the UK’s Serious Fraud Office clarifying that Mahama’s brother and others involved had no case to answer, the ruling government persisted in framing this scandal as a tool for political advantage.
“We also note the OSP’s revelation that President Nana Akufo-Addo personally requested that President Mahama be investigated. This casts an even darker shadow on the motives behind the initial accusations, which were planted to tarnish the reputation of an innocent man.
“The lies and fabricated stories against President Mahama over the last eight years have been consistently proven false.
“President Mahama has always made himself available for any investigation. He has consistently stated that he has nothing to hide and has been ready to cooperate fully with any inquiry.
“In this spirit, we extend the same challenge to Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia and President Akufo-Addo to subject themselves to equal scrutiny and transparency as we strive for accountability in our leadership.
“Mahama remains committed to Ghana’s progress and the fight against corruption in all its forms. He will continue to advocate for a better Ghana for all and will not be deterred by fabrications or machinations by political opponents.
Earlier, a Deputy Communications director of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dennis Miracles Aboagye, has said that the report by the OSP, has finally revealed who the Government Official One is in the Abirbus Scandal.
He said it took a while to know that ex-President Mahama is the one referred to as Government Official.
“Finally, the country gets to know who Government Official 1 is…. It took a while, but now we know. It brought global shame but we shall surely get out of it. Never again, should we put our country in the hands of a leader who brings such global shame,” he wrote on Facebook on Thursday, August 8.
The OSP after its investigations in the Airbus scandal case has disclosed that Mr Mahama was ‘Government Official One’ in the Airbus SE case.
At yesterday’s press conference, the OSP identified Mahama as Government Official One by the UK and US courts during their investigations.
“The OSP confirms the identity of the following individuals. The individual described as Government Official 1 by the UK court and Individual one by the US court is John Dramani Mahama. He is a citizen of Ghana and was the Vice-president of Ghana from 7 January 2009 to 24 July 2012,” the OSP stated.
Mr Mahama, a former President and now flag bearer for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) was Vice President at the time the incident happened.
Ghana bought three Military Airplanes – C295s – from Airbus. The nation received its first C295 in November 2011. The second aircraft was received in April 2012 and the third in November 2015.
The deals covering them were argued at the time to be in line with the 2009-2012 Strategic Plan of the Ghana Armed Forces.
All three purchases, approved by Ghana’s Parliament after heated disagreements on the floor, were roundly marketed by the government of the day as a drive to modernize Ghana’s Air Force.
Funding for the first two C295s came from a €60,034,636 loan facility from the Deutsche Bank S.A.E.
A further €11,750,000 million loan from the Fidelity Bank Ghana Limited was also approved by Parliament during the period for the acquisition of two DA42 MPP Guardian surveillance aircraft for the Ghana Airforce.
The House also approved a total loan sum of $105,370,177.09 from the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES) for the purchase of an Embraer E190 jet for the country.
The Embraer agreement was to cover related spare parts, and relevant accessories as well as the construction of an aircraft hangar big enough to house three large aircraft.
Prior to the Parliamentary approval of the loan agreements, Minority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, had slammed the deals as both questionable and non-transparent, adding that the contract sums had been padded by the government.
He famously tabled figures obtained from the internet to back his claims, but was scorned for doing no more than relying on Google to come up with such serious claims of wrongdoing.
One of the C295s acquired under the deal supported United Nations-led missions in Mali. The rest were bought, as the Government explained at the time, to support strategic operations of the Ghana Air Force including surveillance of the country’s offshore oil production fields, border patrol, the training of pilots and internal transportation of troops.
In November 2014, then President John Mahama, had announced that Ghana planned to acquire more Military equipment, including five Super Tucanos, Mi-17s and four Z-9s, for the Ghana Airforce. At the time, Ghanaian troops were said to have relied heavily on civilian flights for their movements and needed military aircraft to correct this anomaly. Despite opposition criticisms, the government went ahead with the purchase agreements.
President Akufo-Addo, referred the Airbus bribery scandal to the Special Prosecutor Martin Amidu to investigate the matter.
These investigations are expected to be conducted in collaboration with the United Kingdom authorities, according to a statement from the presidency.
The statement noted that the Special Prosecutor Office will “collaborate with its UK counterparts to conduct a prompt inquiry to determine the complicity or otherwise of any Ghanaian government official, past or present, involved in the said scandal.”
The President, according to the statement, wants “necessary legal action taken against any such official, as required by Ghanaian law.”
Ghana was cited as one of five countries in which global aerospace group, Airbus SE, allegedly bribed or promised payments to senior officials in exchange for business favours between 2009 and 2015, according to the UK’s Serious Fraud Office. This led to a record £3 billion in settlement by Airbus with France, the United Kingdom and the United States to avoid corporate criminal charges.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC), which was in power during the period the bribes were allegedly paid, denied the suggestions of corruption from key state actors.
The party in a statement signed by former Attorney General, Marietta Brew Appiah-Oppong, argued that media reports on the matter, did not capture the true reflection of the approved judgement of the case in the UK.
“The reports alleging that Airbus SE paid bribes during the administration of President John Evans Atta Mills and John Dramani Mahama are false, misleading and do not reflect the Approved Judgment.
Indeed, the Approved Judgment of the Crown Court of Southwark approving the DPA between Airbus and the UK Serious Fraud Office does not allege that any payment was made by Airbus to any Ghanaian Government official,” the statement said. Purpose of Ghana bribe In the case of Ghana, the court found that the company’s bribe was to land the contract of purchase of a military transport aircraft.
“Between 1 July 2011 and 1 June 2015 Airbus SE failed to prevent persons associated with Airbus SE from bribing others concerned with the purchase of military transport aircraft by the Government of Ghana, where the said bribery was intended to obtain or retain business or advantage in the conduct of business for Airbus SE,” the court’s statement of offence noted. The documents indicated that one of the unnamed Ghanaian officials was “a key decision-maker in respect of Government of Ghana aircraft orders.” A number of Airbus employees “made or promised success-based commission payments of approximately €5 million” to one of the Ghanaians implicated in the acts of corruption
