Ghanatodayonline.com News, Politics, Health, Education & More
Claims that investigations into the Airbus Saga would have shown former President John Dramani Mahama’s guilt of bribery had the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) pursued in-depth contact with US and UK judicial and investigative personnel have been refuted.
The New Patriotic Party’s Communications Wing and the Ernest Owusu Bempah-led Fixing the Country Movement have characterized as inadequate the exoneration of Mr. Mahama and his brother from any charges of bribery pertaining to the acquisition of several military transport aircraft from Airbus.
As a result, the Fixing the Country Movement has made requests, such as calling for a public probe and a reexamination of the contends, claiming that court records from the US and the UK indicated bribery against the two, as well as their allies and assigns.
The OSP’s Director of Strategy, Research, and Communication, Samuel Appiah Darko, responded in writing to the Ultimate FM Breakfast Team, directing the critics to pertinent sections of the organization’s extensive report that addresses every query posed in their media appearances.
“The OSP thoroughly reviewed and analysed the UK and US judgments, which are reproduced in detail in the OSP report. The individuals investigated by the OSP have not faced charges or trial for bribery in nearly 4 or 5 years and were not included in the DPA. The DPA only contains Airbus’s responses,” the statement mentioned.
The Office for Special Prosecutor(OSP) maintains that there is no evidence from the Serious Fraud Office or other legal authority to substantiate the claims of bribery, which led to the Airbus Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA).
“The OSP engaged with foreign investigative and prosecutorial authorities through the mutual legal assistance framework, requesting evidence from UK and US authorities, that led to their bribery conclusion. In four and a half years, no evidence has been provided to the OSP, with authorities repeatedly referring the OSP to the Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) with Airbus.”
“There is no actual evidence (direct or circumstantial) of bribery. In April 2022, the UK SFO wrote to the individuals that they would not be prosecuted. And that the SFO may change its mind if it finds new evidence. It means that the UK and US authorities do not have the evidence to prosecute any person. No person has been prosecuted till date,” the statement added.
The statement also forewarned the nation against trying to view the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) as a tool of foreign prosecutorial and investigative agencies, particularly in light of the OSP’s efforts to locate and speak with those named in the Airbus Bribery scandal, going above and beyond what was required by court orders.
“The issue isn’t about which investigative authorities are superior. We shouldn’t belittle our investigative bodies or assume they’re inferior to foreign counterparts” the warning stated.
“The US and UK investigations focused solely on Airbus’s perspective and did not involve questioning the individuals concerned. The OSP’s investigation was more comprehensive, as it tracked and questioned the individuals involved. Concluding bribery solely based on Airbus’s testimony is flawed,” the OSP elucidated.
The OSP clarified that Samuel Foster Mahama had been paid for the transaction by stating that the sums advanced were in line with the commissions that Airbus pays its agents and business partners for successfully completing sales campaigns.
“The arrangement between Airbus and JM’s brother was an agency agreement involving a success-based commission for the sale of planes. The arrangement was an agency agreement between Airbus and agents referred to as Business Partners.”
“Typically, Airbus paid its business partners a 5% commission based on the cost of the planes. For example, if a plane cost $20 million, the commission would be $1 million. This same arrangement applied to JM’s brother, who acted as an agent for Airbus. The two planes involved were highly expensive military transport planes, so the significant amount paid by Airbus to JM’s brother represented 5% of the total cost of both planes,” the statement clarified.
Source: Ghanatodayonline.com
