Gov’t playing political game with Airbus scandal – NDC

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has accused the ruling government of playing political mischief with the Airbus SE bribery scandal. 

Addressing the media in Accra on Thursday, the National Communications Officer of the NDC, Sammy Gyamfi said the allegations that supposed former top government officials received bribes from Airbus were inaccurate.

“In fact, not even the unnamed so-called government official 1 (GO1) is cited in the report or approved judgement for demanding or receiving a bribe or committing any offence…We can state with a large degree of certainty that the UK SFO would have stated that bribes were paid to the said GO1 if they had found so in their investigations,” he said.

He added that “to the extent that the said Government Official 1 is not cited for any offence in any of the approved judgement, his or her identity is completely immaterial.”

Background

The damages in the US court against Airbus SE with Case No.: 1:20-cr-00021 (TFH) is being assessed after the historic judgment at the District of Columbia Court, but at the UK Crown Court of Southwark, London, Airbus SE has been fined a record £3 billion in penalties after admitting it had paid huge bribes on an “endemic” basis to land contracts in 20 countries, including Ghana.

UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) in documents sent to court quoted at least 5 million Euros as payment of kickbacks to a top Ghanaian official through an intermediary who is a close relative of “a high ranking elected Ghanaian government official” during the Mahama administration.

According to the documents, ‘Government Official 1’ was in “direct repeated contact with senior Airbus SE executives.”

Special Prosecutor

President Akufo-Addo has already referred the raging Airbus bribery scandal to the Special Prosecutor, Martin A. B. K. Amidu, for investigations and possible prosecution.

A statement by the Director of Communications at the Presidency (Jubilee House), Eugene Arhin, said, “President Akufo-Addo has taken notice of the judgment and its implications, and has referred it to the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) to collaborate with its UK counterparts to conduct a prompt inquiry to determine the complicity or otherwise of any Ghanaian government official, past or present, involved in the said scandal and to take the necessary legal action against any such official as required by Ghanaian law.”