Business News of Tuesday, 3 November 2020

Source: www.ghanaweb.com

Airbus Scandal: Investigations into deal deferred until after 2020 elections - OSP

Special Prosecutor, Martin Amidu Special Prosecutor, Martin Amidu

The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) says it will hold out on a probe into an alleged bribery scandal under the erstwhile Mills-John Mahama administration after Ghana heads to the polls on December 7.

The development comes after the former president, John Mahama has been tagged by the Special Prosecutor, Martin Amidu as the infamous ‘Government Official 1’ in his involvement in the Airbus scandal.

According to excerpts of a report by the Special Prosecutor on the Agyapa Royalties transaction, John Mahama has been linked to the Airbus Scandal deal in preliminary findings by the OSP.

Prior to this, documents released by a UK Court showed that some top representatives from the government of Ghana under the Mills-Mahama administration took bribes from the world’s largest airliner manufacturer, Airbus between 2009 and 2015.

The 5-million-euro bribery scandal instigated public uproar in February this year and has since caused a partisan blame game.

Special Prosecutor, Martin Amidu had earlier sent out invitations to four persons in connection with the scandal into the controversial airbus scandal.

Read Martin Amidu’s remark on the Airbus scandal below:

This Office also has warrants of arrest issued by the Courts of Ghana, and an Interpol Red Alert Notice outstanding for execution in the case of the Republic v Samuel Adam Mahama and Others (known as the Airbus SE — Ghana Bribery Scandal involving the then Government of Ghana), not to talk of documentary evidence of suspected forgeries and deceit of a public officer by the three full-blood brothers in the corruption transaction to obtain a Ghanaian passport for Samuel Adam Mahama.

This Office has established the identity of elected Government official 1 to be former President John Dramani Mahama whose brother of the full blood is Samuel Adam Foster also known as Samuel Adam Mahama.

The only reason the former President has not been invited for interrogation (in spite of all threats from some of his followers and lawyers) is the fact that he got himself an insurance as the Presidential candidate of the other largest political party in Ghana and prudence dictated that the interrogation be held in abeyance during this election season.

The former President has also not offered to make any voluntary statement to this Office despite the publication of an alleged interview containing admissions purportedly made by the former President to a Daily Graphic reporter without the full voice recording which in the meantime remains just hearsay.