The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has exonerated former President John Dramani Mahama, his brother, and three other individuals of any wrongdoing in the Airbus scandal.
After a four-year investigation, it has concluded that there is no direct evidence of corruption and bribery in the purchase of three C-295 military transport aircraft from Airbus by the government between 2011 and 2015.
The probe, conducted between February 2020 and June this year, focused on former President Mahama, who was identified as “Government Official 1 or Individual 1 “ in the United States (US) and United Kingdom (UK) court proceedings.
Others were his brother, Samuel Adam Foster (also known as Samuel Adam Mahama), referred to as “Intermediary 5 or Consultant 4”; Philip Sean Middlemiss, referred to as “Intermediary 6” or “Consultant 5”), Leanne Sarah Davis “Intermediary 7”, and Sarah Furneaux, the spouse of Mr Foster.
At a press conference in Accra yesterday, the Special Prosecutor Kissi Agyabeng revealed that the OSP’s inquiry found no evidence to support the allegations that these individuals acted as intermediaries, facilitating bribery between Airbus employees and Ghanaian public officials.
He said that the contracts for the aircraft purchases were approved by the Parliament and adhered to the country’s procurement requirements.
“The OSP investigation found no evidence that former President Mahama was involved or played any role in the procurement and maintenance of the agency relationship between Airbus and Foster and his associates in respect of the purchase by the government of Ghana of military transport aircraft from Airbus.
“And it appears to the OSP that the direct communications and meetings between former President Mahama and officials of Airbus to close the deal were actuated by good intentions on the part of the former,” he said.
Mr Agyebeng noted that Mr Foster and his associates acted as intermediaries in the Airbus-Ghana deal only after Ghana chose the C-295 aircraft and that Mr Foster’s role, coinciding with his brother being President of Ghana, was an unfortunate coincidence that drew criticism from UK and US authorities.
While the investigation did not uncover any direct influence of Former President Mahama’s relationship with his brother on the procurement process, he cautioned that such close dealings between high-ranking officials and their relatives should be avoided, as they could raise suspicions of conflict of interest.
Mr Agyebeng further stated that the payments made to the intermediaries were determined to be legitimate success-based commission, not bribes intended to influence the outcome of the transactions.
“It seems to the OSP that the only reasons why the Airbus-Ghana deal found its way into the UK and US Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) were the fact that former President Mahama and Samuel Adam Foster were brothers of full blood; and that former President Mahama directly participated in commercial communications and meetings with Airbus officials,” Mr Agyebeng explained.
As a result of the OSP’s findings, the Special Prosecutor has directed the withdrawal of the arrest warrants that were previously issued for Mr Foster, Mr Middlemiss, Ms Davis, and Ms Furneaux while the International Criminal Police Organisation (INTERPOL) had also been notified to withdraw the red notices that were issued for these individuals.
Airbus SE was accused of bribing Ghanaian officials, with payments of around five million Euros intended to influence aircraft purchases. On February 2, 2020, the Presidency referred the allegations to the Special Prosecutor, based on a UK court judgment and similar findings by U.S. authorities.
Meanwhile, the special aide to former President John Dramani Mahama, Joyce Bawa Mogtari, has welcomed the outcome of the probe.
Taking to her X page, Joyce Bawa Mogtari who also speaks for the John Mahama campaign said the former president is without blemish.
“John Mahama is incorruptible and stands vindicated. A trustworthy and credible leader we have,” she posted.
The outcome of the probe comes a day after the former President rounded up his campaign tour of the Upper East Region.
Mr Mahama is seeking re-election to the topmost job after two failed attempts in 2016 and 2020.
BY JONATHAN DONKOR & JULIUS YAO PETETSI