The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) in Ghana has officially identified former President John Dramani Mahama as the individual referenced as ‘Government Official 1’ in the Airbus bribery scandal. However, Special Prosecutor Kissi Agyebeng has concluded that there is no evidence to suggest that Mahama accepted any bribes.
This conclusion follows a comprehensive four-year investigation by the OSP. Addressing the media in Accra, Agyebeng explained that revealing the identities involved in the scandal was essential due to significant public interest.
The individual described as Government Official One by the UK court and Individual One by the US court is John Dramani Mahama. He is a citizen of Ghana and served as Vice President from January 7, 2009, to 2012, and as President from 2012 to January 7, 2017. His tenure as Vice President coincided with the UK and US investigations into the first Airbus campaign involving the sale of C295 aircraft to Ghana,” Agyebeng stated.
Mahama’s presidency occurred during the investigation timeframe of the second Airbus campaign related to the sale of C295 aircraft. This revelation aligns with similar assertions made by Ghana’s first Special Prosecutor, Martin Amidu.
Ghana is one of five countries implicated in the European aviation giant Airbus’s bribery scandal, where the company was found to have paid millions of dollars in bribes to secure contracts. The scandal led to a record fine of £5 billion imposed on Airbus by a UK court. Through documents and hearings, Airbus admitted to five counts of failing to prevent bribery, utilizing a network of secret agents to pay large-scale bribes to secure contracts in foreign countries, including Ghana, to land high-value contracts.
