The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), headed by Mr. Kissi Agyebeng, has officially identified former President John Dramani Mahama as “Government Official 1” and “Individual 1” in the ongoing Airbus scandal investigation.
This confirmation was made public during a press conference in Accra, where the OSP revealed that authorities in both the United Kingdom and the United States have corroborated this identification.
Additionally, the OSP disclosed that “Intermediary 5” in the same investigation is Adam Mahama, a sibling of the former president.
This revelation further implicates the Mahama family in the controversy, linking them directly to the individuals previously referred to by these aliases in the international probe.
The Airbus scandal revolves around Ghana’s purchase of three C295 military aircraft from Airbus between 2011 and 2015, a transaction that was intended to modernize the country’s Air Force.
The deals, funded by loans approved by Parliament, were criticized by the opposition for lacking transparency and being overpriced.
Investigations by England’s Crown Court revealed that Airbus engaged in bribery schemes to secure contracts, including those in Ghana, leading to a Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) between Airbus and the Serious Fraud Office (SFO).
The court’s findings have reignited concerns about corruption within Ghana’s military procurement processes, particularly regarding the role of intermediaries in securing these deals. The OSP’s recent revelations add a new layer to the case, further implicating high-ranking officials and raising questions about the integrity of the transactions involved.
