Ernest Owusu Bempah, Convenor of Fixing the Country Movement
By Bright Philip Donkor
Members of the pro-New Patriotic Party (NPP) pressure group ‘Fixing The Country Movement’ say legal proceedings in the United Kingdom and the United States had found NDC Flagbearer and former President John Mahama guilty of corruption related to the procurement and acquisition of three military aircraft which occurred between 2009 and 2015.
This follows the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) investigative report that Mahama did not receive bribe or engage in any corrupt practice in relation to the purchase of three military aircraft from aerospace giants, Airbus. The OSP said Mr Mahama did not allow the high offices of Vice-President or President to be used for corrupt practices during the negotiations for the purchase of the aircraft between 2009 and 2015, while no public officials involved in the aircraft purchase were found to have also engaged in any corrupt act.
The OSP concluded that there was no evidence to suggest that Samuel Adam Mahama, a brother of the former President and an agent involved in the deal on behalf of Airbus, as well as other agents, obtained favours from former President Mahama or became a conduit for the payment of bribes to the former President or any public official.
Mahama’s culpability
But in a press conference held on Sunday August 11, 2024 at the Accra International Press Conference Centre, convenor of group, Ernest Kofi Owusu-Bempah Bonsu, said it had been over three years when Airbus SE, a global provider of civilian and military aircraft based in France, agreed to pay combined penalties of nearly $4billion to resolve foreign bribery charges with authorities in the United States, France and the United Kingdom arising out of the Company’s scheme to use third-party business partners to bribe government officials around the world.
He explained that per admissions and court documents, beginning in at least 2008 and continuing until at least 2015, Airbus engaged in and facilitated a scheme to offer and pay bribes to decision makers and other influencers, including foreign officials, in order to obtain improper business advantages and win lucrative contracts in several countries including Ghana.
“As a matter of fact, judicial records made public on 31 January 2020 by the British and American authorities, which Airbus acknowledges to be true, shows that between 2009 and 2015 an Airbus subsidiary specialising in the defence sector hired the brother of a high-ranking Ghanaian elected official(Government Official 1), as well as a friend of the said brother and a third person to serve as commercial partners in the sale of three military transport aircraft, model C295, to Ghana,” he indicated.
He stated that it turned out that Philip Middlemiss, a renowned British actor, Leanne Davis and John Mahama’s brother, Samuel Adam Mahama were the intermediaries between Airbus and former President Mahama, otherwise known as Government Official I as identified by the US and UK authorities.
Biggest corruption case
He stressed that the Airbus corruption is the biggest corruption case ever. “Indeed, payment of bribes were made and received and the beneficiary was Government Official 1,” he stated. Mr. Owusu Bempah disclosed that, documents were falsified in making the payments to disguise the payment of bribes to GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL 1.
The convenor of the group quoted paragraph 136 of the US Court documents, which actually described Government official I as having a reputation for bribe taking.
It reads: “Government Official 1″ had such a reputation as a prolific bribe-collector that within three weeks of the election of the incoming Government, AND BEFORE IT WAS SWORN IN, Airbus reached agreement with brother of “Government Official 1,” described in the US version of Court documents as “Individual 1”.
He indicated that the British judge in charge of the case found that Airbus had sought, through these kickbacks, to obtain an “undue favour” from a member of the Ghanaian government. “As a result, Ghana bought three Airbus C295 military transport aircraft – two in 2011 and another in 2015, all under the presidency of Mills/Mahama,” he stressed.
Established intermediaries in Ghana
He further noted that UK court documents also revealed that the intermediaries established a company in Ghana in December 2009 and that a company with the same name was established in the United Kingdom in February of the following year.
He added that the Ghanaian company they looked into was owned by the brother of Mr Mahama, and a British television actor who had publicly claimed to be the “best friend” of John Mahama.
He mentioned that the former Special Prosecutor, Martin Amidu, who had found the Airbus corruption credible enough to open an investigation in February 2020, announced that he had summoned four “suspects,” Philip Middlemiss and his collaborator Sarah Furneaux, as well as Leanne Davis and Samuel Adam Mahama.
“Respectfully, everyone who is privy to the core details of the series of court documents published by the Department of Justice (DOJ) of the United States and the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) of the United Kingdom cannot allege ignorance of the persons who have brought our nation into this international shame,” he indicated.
He indicated that Airbus had already accepted the complicity of its officials hence the deferred prosecution agreement by the US Department of Justice and UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO). The group hold the view that Mr Mahama and his brother Adam Mahama have a lot of questions to answer to the good people of Ghana.
Call for re-investigation
He urged the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) tot revisit this matter in the interest of public accountability and accountable governance. He called on the British High Commission and the US Embassy to take active interest in this matter and forward their findings to the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Serious Fraud Office (SFO).
He also called on the relevant authorities to institute a public inquiry into the Airbus corruption, and to afford former President John Mahama the opportunity to defend himself in the full glare of the public.
“We believe in public accountability and want to reiterate the point that no one is above accountability. Mahama is corrupt, and the OSP cannot declare him as Government Official One and turned around and say he has no case to answer. We urge the OSP to come again. Fixing the Country Movement is indeed asking the OSP to reinvestigate the entire bribery scheme,” he remarked.
The Airbus deal
Ghana bought three military airplanes – C295s – from Airbus. The nation received its first C295 in November 2011. The second aircraft was received in April 2012 and the third in November 2015. The deals covering them were argued at the time to be in line with the 2009-2012 Strategic Plan of the Ghana Armed Forces.
All three purchases, approved by Ghana’s Parliament after heated disagreements on the floor, were marketed by the government of the day as a drive to modernise Ghana’s Air Force. Funding for the first two C295s came from a €60,034,636 loan facility from Deutsche Bank SAE.
A further €11.75 million loan from Fidelity Bank Ghana Ltd was also approved by Parliament during the period for the acquisition of two DA42 MPP Guardian surveillance aircraft for the Ghana Air Force.
The House also approved a total loan sum of US$105,370,177.09 from the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES) for the purchase of an Embraer E190 jet for Ghana. The Embraer agreement was to cover related spare parts, appropriate accessories as well as the construction of a hangar big enough to house three large aircraft.
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