Former President John Dramani Mahama is, in fact, “Government Official 1” and “Individual 1” in an ongoing investigation, according to formal confirmation from the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), headed by Mr. Kissi Agyebeng.
Authorities from the United States of America and the United Kingdom have verified this identification.
This disclosure was made by Mr. Kissi Agyebeng during a news conference about the contentious Airbus incident in Accra.
Furthermore, the OSP has verified that the former president’s sibling, Adam Mahama, is “Intermediary 5” in the same inquiry.
With the connection between the former president and his family and the people these aliases were previously used to allude to in the inquiry by globally recognized businesses, this discovery adds a new dimension to the case.
Between 2011 and 2015, Ghana invested in three C295 military aircraft from Airbus as part of an Air Force modernization program, using money from loans authorized by the Parliament. The opposition, on the other hand, claimed that the transactions were exorbitant and opaque.
The Crown Court of England’s decision rekindled worries about corruption in these transactions. Following inquiries that showed Airbus participated in bribery schemes to get contracts, particularly in Ghana, the court granted a Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) between the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and Airbus.
The Airbus personnel had consented to bribe middlemen connected to a high-ranking Ghanaian official engaged in the aircraft deals, the court ruled.
The DPA does not shield Airbus from prosecution, and people who paid or received bribes may have been charged with a crime as a result of continuing investigations.
The case sparked questions about the veracity of Ghana’s military acquisition procedures as well as the role middlemen played in completing these transactions.
Source: Ghanatodayonline.com