Former Auditor General and Anti-Corruption Crusader, Daniel Yaw Domelevo, has commended the Special Prosecutor for its diligent work on the Airbus scandal.
Speaking on The Big Issue on Channel One TV, Mr Domelevo praised the OSP for its independent work in the scandal.
He explained that most people are likely to do something that would please the president if a case is referred to them, but the OSP conducted its work independently and boldly presented its findings.
“I was full of commendations for him (special prosecutor) because especially when a request comes from the office of the president, public servants are likely to read between the lines in order to toe the line of the president or what they think the president wants or wanted but I think he independently did his assessments or his investigations and came out with his report.”
“Some aspects of the report I think did not sit well with Ghanaians, some Ghanaians are very happy about the report but be it as it may, my happiness is that he has done his work independently and boldly come out with his findings…I think the OSP has done a good job,” he stated.
On January 31, 2020, Ghana was cited as one of five countries in which global aerospace group Airbus SE allegedly bribed or promised payments to senior officials in exchange for business favours between 2009 and 2015, according to the UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO).
This led to a record £3 billion settlement by Airbus with France, the United Kingdom, and the United States to avoid corporate criminal charges.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo referred the scandal to the OSP for investigations. Martin Amidu, the former Special Prosecutor, stated in a report before he resigned from office that John Mahama was the government official code-named ‘Government Official 1’ in the UK SFO’s report.
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) also made the same allegation but Mr Mahama denied the claims, and there was no conclusive evidence implicating him.
However, the OSP has recently identified the former president as Government Official 1 (GO1) in the Airbus scandal.
Speaking at a press conference in Accra on Thursday, August 8, the Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyebeng, also confirmed the brother of the former president, Samuel Mahama, as Intermediary 5.
Giving a brief overview of investigations carried out by his office, the OSP confirmed that Mr Mahama was identified as GO1 and Individual 1 by UK and US courts respectively but played no role in the acquisition.
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