OSP did a Lazy Job - NPP

 Haruna Mohammed, the Deputy General Secretary of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), has expressed strong criticism of the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) for what he describes as inadequate efforts in investigating the Airbus bribery case.

OSP of Ghana

In an interview on JoyNews' The Pulse on Thursday, August 8, Mohammed argued that the OSP should have taken steps to obtain the UK court ruling, which identified former President John Mahama as "Government Official 1," given that both Ghana and the UK operate under a common law system.

He pointed out that a detailed review of the UK court's judgment, which includes the judges' opinions and legal references, could have provided critical evidence to strengthen the case.

"The OSP has been negligent in its duty by concluding that they lack sufficient evidence to proceed with prosecution. Did they even attempt to secure the UK judgment? What were the materials and evidence considered by the UK court? Was there any obstacle in accessing the judgment?" Mohammed questioned.

His remarks come after the Office of the Special Prosecutor exonerated former President John Mahama of any corruption charges related to the Airbus bribery scandal.

During a press conference on Thursday, August 8, Special Prosecutor Kissi Agyebeng stated that the investigation uncovered "no evidence" linking Mahama or his brother, Adam Mahama, who is based in the UK, to any acts of bribery. The investigation also confirmed that the procurement process for the military aircraft complied with all required protocols.

Despite this, the Deputy NPP General Secretary maintains that the OSP's work was "incomplete" and that further efforts should have been made to gather additional evidence that could advance the investigation.

Mohammed, however, acknowledged that the investigation has confirmed a link between Mahama, referred to as "Government Official 1," and the corruption allegations tied to the Airbus scandal. He asserted that this connection reinforces the NPP's position, stressing that "crime does not have a statute of limitations" and that the case can be pursued at any time.

Additionally, Mohammed mentioned that the NPP's legal team will review the OSP's report and reiterated the party's satisfaction with the identification of John Mahama as "Government Official 1."

"The NPP will make our stance clear, but we are pleased that it has been confirmed that John Mahama is indeed Government Official 1," he added.

Background

Ghana is among five countries implicated in a corruption case involving European aviation giant Airbus, which was accused of paying or attempting to pay millions in bribes to secure contracts. This led to a £5 billion fine imposed on Airbus by a UK court.

Ghana purchased three C295 military aircraft from Airbus, with the first delivered in November 2011, the second in April 2012, and the third in November 2015. These acquisitions were said to align with the 2009-2012 Strategic Plan of the Ghana Armed Forces.

In court documents and proceedings in the UK and the US, Airbus admitted to five counts of failing to prevent bribery, involving the use of secret agents to pay substantial bribes to foreign officials, including those in Ghana, to secure high-value contracts.

The investigation identified six key actors in Ghana's involvement in the scandal, with "Government Official 1" being a high-ranking elected official, alongside several intermediaries and companies linked to the bribes.

Other British nationals, including Philip Sean Middlemiss, Sarah Davis, and Sarah Furneaux, were also implicated in the case for their roles in facilitating the scandal.