Special Prosecutor Kissi Agyebeng has revealed that the flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and former President of Ghana, John Dramani Mahama, played no role in the controversial Airbus scandal during his administration.
The Office of the Special Prosecutor confirmed that after revealing that the individual referred to Government Official 1 by the UK court and Individual 1 by the US court in the Airbus scandal is former President John Mahama.
Special Prosecutor Kissi Agyebeng made this known while briefing the media on the Office’s findings of the case after initiating investigations in February 2020.
According to Mr Agyebeng, the UK and US courts muffled the identities of the government officials involved in the case.
He, however, said, “we deem it necessary to reveal the identity of some of the individuals owing to the very heightened interest in the fact that the conduct of airbus was held by the up UK and US court to be able to aimed at courting undue favor and advantage from Ghanaian public officials and an elected high government official in the sale of C292 aircraft to Ghana and the persons held to be closely associated with the conduit of the courting of such undue favor and advantage….”
“The individual described as Government Official 1 by the UK court and Individual 1 by the US court is John Dramani Mahama,” the Special Prosecutor said.
Mahama has on several occasions refuted that he played a role in the Airbus scandal and further challenged the Akufo-Addo-led government to prosecute him should he be found guilty.
Former President John Dramani Mahama was among the government officials implicated in the scandal, with former Special Prosecutor Martin Amidu suggesting that the label “Government Official One” in the scandal referred to the former president.
In a communication during his tenure as Special Prosecutor, Martin Amidu disclosed how John Mahama allegedly leveraged his position to secure a Ghanaian passport for his brother, Samuel Adam Mahama.
Martin Amidu said, “Amongst other reasons for the letter to the said Ministry, Samuel Adam Mahama’s elder brother of full blood, who without a doubt and the evidence available to this Office answers to the description of the elected Government Official 1, allegedly granted a denial interview to the Daily Graphic which published the same on June 20, 2020, fortunately containing suspected admissions that he is the elected Government Official 1 referred to in the UK judgement.
“Serving appointees of this government have been unable to obtain the voice recording of this interview to enable the Office to confront the former president with his own admissions in the interview as answering to the description of the brother of Samuel Adam Mahama as Intermediary 5.”
About the Airbus scandal case
Ghana’s acquisition of three C295 military aircraft from Airbus, a process that began in 2011, has come under renewed scrutiny following a recent ruling by England’s Crown Court in Southwark.
The purchases, which were initially presented as part of the 2009-2012 Strategic Plan of the Ghana Armed Forces, were approved by Ghana’s Parliament despite significant debate.
These aircraft were intended to modernize the Ghana Air Force and were funded by loans from Deutsche Bank S.A.E. and Fidelity Bank Ghana Limited, with additional financing from the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES) for related military purchases.
The deals were met with opposition, particularly from Minority Leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, who questioned the transparency and legitimacy of the contracts.
He argued that the contract sums were inflated and criticized the government for a lack of transparency, relying on publicly available information to substantiate his claims, which were largely dismissed at the time.
The recent judgement by the Crown Court has brought these concerns back to the forefront. On January 21, 2020, the court approved a Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) between the UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and Airbus SE, which admitted to extensive bribery schemes across several countries, including Ghana.
The DPA allows the SFO to delay prosecution if the company complies with specific conditions, a decision that the court deemed fair, reasonable, and in the public interest, given the potential economic impact of immediate prosecution on Airbus.
The court’s findings revealed that Airbus engaged in corrupt practices to secure contracts in multiple countries, including Ghana.
The judgement highlighted that Airbus, through intermediaries, attempted to bribe officials linked to a high-ranking Ghanaian government figure between 2011 and 2015 to secure the sale of two C295 aircraft.
Initially, Airbus planned to pay a €5 million bribe disguised as a commission to “intermediary 5,” who had close ties to a powerful Ghanaian official overseeing the aircraft purchase deals.
Although this particular payment was never completed due to procedural safeguards, subsequent transactions were arranged through a Spanish third-party company, enabling Airbus to funnel nearly €4 million in bribes to the intermediary.
The third-party company, inserted into the deal to bypass due diligence processes, facilitated the sale of two aircraft.
However, the arrangement fell apart during negotiations for the third aircraft after Airbus conducted an internal investigation, leading the Spanish company to withdraw. Claims by “intermediary 5” for an additional €1.6 million related to the third aircraft were also not honored by Airbus.
The Crown Court’s judgement does not grant Airbus and its officials immunity from prosecution. The SFO retains the right to pursue criminal charges if Airbus fails to meet the conditions of the DPA.
Moreover, ongoing investigations could result in criminal proceedings against those who paid or received the alleged bribes, including intermediaries and associated individuals in Ghana. Under English law, the SFO could utilize Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) agreements to pursue these charges internationally.
