Airbus saga: “OSP has done his work independently and boldly” – Domelevo

Daniel Yaw Domelevo, a former Auditor General and anti-corruption crusader, has praised the Special Prosecutor for their hard work on the Airbus case.

Speaking on Channel One TV’s The Big Issue, Mr. Domelevo commended the OSP for their impartial investigation into the matter.

He clarified that while most individuals would likely act in a way that would appease the president if a matter was given to them, the OSP carried out its investigation on its own and proudly disclosed its conclusions.

“I was full of commendations for him (special prosecutor) because especially when a request comes from the office of the president, public servants are likely to read between the lines in order to toe the line of the president or what they think the president wants or wanted but I think he independently did his assessments or his investigations and came out with his report.”

“Some aspects of the report I think did not sit well with Ghanaians, some Ghanaians are very happy about the report but be it as it may, my happiness is that he has done his work independently and boldly come out with his findings…I think the OSP has done a good job,” he stated.

According to the UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO), Ghana was listed on January 31, 2020, as one of five nations where the multinational aerospace company Airbus SE is accused of bribing or offering bribes to high officials in return for commercial favors between 2009 and 2015.

In order to avoid corporate criminal charges, Airbus settled for a record £3 billion with France, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Investigations into the incident have been forwarded to the OSP by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. The UK Special Prosecutor’s report identified John Mahama as the government official code-named “Government Official 1,” according to a report written by former Special Prosecutor Martin Amidu prior to his resignation.

The identical accusation was made by the New Patriotic Party (NPP), but Mr. Mahama refuted them and there was insufficient proof to support their allegations.

But the former president has now been named by the OSP as Government Official 1 (GO1) in the Airbus case.

The brother of the former president, Samuel Mahama, was also identified as Intermediary 5 by Special Prosecutor Kissi Agyebeng during a news conference on Thursday, August 8.

The OSP provided a brief summary of the investigations his agency conducted and stated that although Mr. Mahama was not involved in the purchase, he was designated by US and UK courts as Individual 1 and GO1, respectively.

Source: Ghanatodayonline.com