Opinions of Sunday, 11 August 2024

Columnist: Rockson Adofo

How was the Airbus bribery scandal investigated by the Special Prosecutor Kissi Agyebeng?

John Dramani Mahama and Kissi Agyebeng John Dramani Mahama and Kissi Agyebeng

Time and again, I have said in my publications that Special Prosecutor Kissi Agyebeng is a total misfit in his job. He cannot handle the duties of the office as anticipated by President Nana Akufo-Addo, the brainchild of the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP).

Both Kissi Agyebeng and Martin Amidu have let the president and the nation down by their deliberate failure and or, incompetence to positively perform the functions of the OSP, proving themselves a waste of space and waste of public funds.

Let me go straight to the point. How did Kissi Agyebeng conduct his investigations into the Airbus bribery scandal leading to the exoneration of former president John Dramani Mahama from total blame?

Who was Ghana government official 1 as mentioned in count 5 of the Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA), thus SFO-v-Airbus judgment rendered in the United Kingdom on 31 January 2020 as found in the link below?

https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Director-of-the-Serious-Fraud-Office-v-Airbus-SE-1.pdf

Who was the intermediary 5 alleged to be a close relative of the said Ghana government official 1?

Who in Ghana could, and can, be addressed as a government official 1?

Did the intermediary 5, a facilitator of course, intend to accept bribe to finally arrange for the military aircraft(s) to be purchased by the government of Ghana?

The intermediary 5 is proven or alleged to be one Foster Mahama, a relative of then Vice President or President John Dramani Mahama, resident in the United Kingdom.

During Kissi Agyebeng’s extensive or otherwise, investigations, into the bribery scandal, did he invite the suspects, Messrs John Dramani Mahama and Foster Mahama for interrogation? If yes, did they appear physically before him or remotely via video conference? If not, why?

Assuming the suspects could not be reached, including a said intermediary 8, how then did Kissi Agyebeng successfully arrive at his judgment of total exoneration from bribery scandal of both Mr John Dramani Mahama and Foster Adams Mahama?

Did the Special Prosecutor (SP) reach out to the SFO or the British Courts for further and better particulars about the Ghana government official 1 and intermediaries 5 and 8?

Why would the SFO charge the Airbus of corruption and bribery amounting to the breach of international business contract agreements, mentioning Ghana government official 1 and his/her relative along with others and other countries?

The Airbus to avoid full court prosecution, agreed to pay over $3.9 Billion in Global Penalties to Resolve Foreign Bribery and International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) Case.

In the UK, the SFO entered €991m Deferred Prosecution Agreement with Airbus as part of a €3.6bn global resolution as mentioned above.

It was a serious case. However, Kissi Agyebeng is making light of it by his judgment of which how he arrived at his verdict, Rockson Adofo cannot get his head around it.

I am yet to read in detail how his investigations were carried out.

However, he must understand that if intermediary 5 did take or intended to take any commission of 5% of the sale of the aircraft(s) to Ghana, why would the SFO mention whatever money he took for bribery against the Airbus?

I am waiting to read the full judgment by the SP, how it was arrived at and how extensive the investigation was, probably reaching to the shores of the UK, Spain, etc.

As I had said elsewhere, the OSP can work as anticipated only when it is headed by a white expatriate.

The office must be dissolved for being a complete waste of space and waste of public funds. It has never lived up to expectation since its creation.

Has Mr John Dramani Mahama been exonerated from blame of the purchase of the Brazilian Embraer aircraft(s) scandal?

Whenever military aircrafts are purchased for the past decade and a half, by the administration of NDC, one name always gets stained with bribery allegations. What is that name and who is that person?

Your guess is as right as mine!

Rockson Adofo