Former President John Dramani Mahama has firmly denied allegations of corruption, asserting that no evidence of wrongdoing, including accusations related to the Airbus scandal, has been proven against him more than seven years after leaving Office.
In a lecture commemorating the 10th anniversary of PV Obeng’s death in Kumasi on August 9, Mahama expressed profound relief and vindication following the Office of the Special Prosecutor’s (OSP) report, which found no evidence implicating him in the scandal.
“We in the NDC do not place ourselves above society; we are humble and honest enough to submit ourselves to investigative bodies if a basis for it arises.
Having been out of Office for over seven years, no allegation of wrongdoing has been proven against me, including the baseless Airbus brouhaha that this government attempted to associate me with,” Mahama said.
The OSP recently identified Mahama as ‘Government Official One’ in the Airbus SE case, a designation that emerged from investigations by UK and US courts.
This term is used to refer to a high-ranking government official who was allegedly involved in the corrupt practices that led to the acquisition of the Airbus aircraft.
The OSP confirmed that Mahama, who served as Ghana’s Vice President from January 7, 2009, to July 24, 2012, was referenced in the international investigations.
The Airbus scandal, a complex web of corruption, involves Ghana’s acquisition of three C295 military aircraft from Airbus.
The first aircraft was delivered in November 2011, with the second arriving in April 2012 and the third in November 2015.
These deals, intended to modernize Ghana’s Air Force, were financed through various loans and approved by Ghana’s Parliament despite some opposition.
A January 2020 judgment by England’s Crown Court revealed extensive bribery schemes involving Airbus.
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) approved a Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) with Airbus, allowing the company to avoid immediate prosecution in exchange for paying over £3 billion in fines and cooperating with ongoing investigations.
A DPA is a legal agreement that allows a company to avoid criminal prosecution if it meets certain conditions, such as paying a fine and cooperating with law enforcement.
The court’s judgment highlighted that Airbus had engaged in corrupt practices to secure contracts, including those in Ghana.
These corrupt practices involved paying bribes to high-ranking officials and intermediaries to influence the decision-making process and secure lucrative contracts.
However, the SFO’s investigations did not directly implicate Mahama in accepting bribes.
The court documents suggested that bribery involved intermediaries with connections to high-ranking officials but did not specify individuals.
Mahama has steadfastly maintained his innocence, emphasizing that the findings validate his stance and refute attempts to tarnish his reputation with unsubstantiated claims.
The SFO’s ongoing investigations could lead to further actions against individuals involved in the bribery schemes, including intermediaries in Ghana. Still, Airbus and its officials remain subject to potential prosecution under the terms of the DPA.
