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Claim: Ghanaian lawmaker Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa alleges ex-President John Mahama was subjected to an international inquiry in the Airbus SE bribery saga.
Verdict: False. DUBAWA’s investigations showed that the former Ghanaian leader John Mahama was not subjected to an international inquiry as the legislator alleged. Instead, Mr Mahama was investigated by the country’s Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) to establish complicity by any Ghanaian government official in the Airbus SE bribery scandal in 2009 and 2015.
Full Text
A Ghanaian legislator, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has described the country’s ex-president, John Dramani Mahama, as a truthful and honest leader.
Addressing hundreds of supporters of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Volta region, Mr Ablakwa said the ex-Ghanaian leader is the first former president to be investigated by international anti-graft agencies in the Airbus SE bribery saga.
European multinational aerospace corporation Airbus SE was indicted by three separate courts in the U.K., the U.S., and France after investigations into its activities in some countries, including Ghana, regarding uncovered acts of bribery by persons who acted on its behalf.
The particulars of offence in Count 5 of the statement of Fact read:
“Between July 1, 2011, and June 1, 2015, Airbus SE failed to prevent persons associated with Airbus SE from bribing others concerned with the purchase of military transport aircraft by the Government of Ghana, where the said bribery was intended to obtain or retain business or advantage in the conduct of business for Airbus SE.”
See page 34 of the Agreed Statement of Fact prepared by the UK’s Serious Fraud Office here.
Court records showed that in a Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) between the SFO and Airbus SE, the aerospace company was ordered to pay a total financial sanction of $3.9 billion.
The court action against Airbus SE generated discussion in Ghana after investigations revealed that a senior government official identified as ‘Government Official 1’ played a key role in the country’s dealing with the company.
“Government Official 1 was a key decision maker in respect of Government of Ghana aircraft orders,” the UK’s Serious Fraud Office said.
See page 35 of the Agreed Statement of Fact prepared by the UK’s Serious Fraud Office here.
President Nana Akufo-Addo directed Ghana’s Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) to investigate the Airbus SE bribery scandal on Feb. 2, 2020, to determine whether any Ghanaian government official was complicit.
After nearly four years of investigation, the OSP revealed that ex-President John Mahama is the senior Ghanaian government official identified as ‘Government Official 1’ by the UK court and ‘Individual 1’ by the US court.
However, the OSP investigation found no evidence of wrongdoing by the former Ghanaian leader who was involved in the country’s purchase of three aircraft from Airbus SE.
“It appears to the OSP that the direct communications and meetings between former President Mahama and officials of Airbus to close the deal were actuated by good intentions on the part of the former,” the OSP’s report on paragraph 6.5 of page 18 reads.
Commenting on the OSP report, the North Tongu Member of Parliament, Samuel Okudzeto, has praised Mr Mahama for his unassailable character and reputation.
“It’s never happened in our history – and yet President Mahama, after four years of international investigations – OSP Ghana, OSP UK, France, United States of America. The only former President subjected to an international inquiry, and he has emerged squeaky clean,” the legislator said.
Please see the video from minutes 29:52 to 30:44, which contains the comment posted on Mr Mahama’s Facebook page.
Data on Facebook showed that as of Aug. 14, 2024, the video has 305 comments, 295 shares, and over 1,430 likes.
DUBAWA decided to investigate Mr Ablakwa’s claim as part of its campaign against misinformation and disinformation in Ghana.
Verification
DUBAWA’s investigations showed that the former Ghanaian leader John Mahama was not subjected to an international inquiry as the legislator alleged.
Although President Akufo-Addo’s referral letter encouraged a collaborative investigation between the country’s OSP and the UK authorities, there is no evidence to support the claim about an international inquiry.
In paragraph 6.1 of page 17 of its report, Ghana’s OSP noted that:
“The OSP’s mutual legal assistance requested from the UK and US authorities placed the OSP in a position no better than any person who read the DPAs and the decisions of the UK and US courts on the Airbus matter. It was not a lack of industry or a desire to try on the part of the OSP. In the end, the OSP investigated on its own.”
Paragraph 1 of page 4 of the Agreed Statement of Fact revealed that three prosecuting authorities were involved in the Airbus SE bribery scandal: the French Parquet National Financier (PNF), the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), and the UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO).
“Each of the prosecuting authorities has taken responsibility for several geographical areas or customers and entered into their own respective DPA, Judicial Public Interest Agreement (“CJIP”) or, in the case of DOS, Consent Agreement with Airbus SE,” the UK’s Serious Fraud Office said.
Findings of DUBAWA’s search revealed that the French PNF focused its investigations on Airbus and its divisions’ conduct in the United Arab Emirates, China, South Korea, Nepal, India, Taiwan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, Japan, Turkey, Mexico, Thailand, Brazil, and Kuwait.
Also, the UK’s SFO focused its investigations on Airbus and its divisions’ conduct in South Korea, Indonesia, Ghana, Colombia, Mexico, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, and Taiwan, as disclosed in paragraph 38 of page 10 of the Agreed Statement of Fact.
However, DUBAWA’s review of the court documents in the UK, US, and France showed that the authorities in the three countries did not investigate persons identified to have played a role in the bribery scandal.
Touching on this, Ghana’s OSP noted in paragraph 5.5 of page 10 of its report that:
“And that the referenced individuals appeared not to have been direct subjects of the investigations by the UK and US authorities and were not afforded the opportunity, if they were so minded to take it, to explain their actions and to present exculpatory evidence, if any.”
Given that the UK, US, and French authorities did not investigate any person mentioned in the respective countries, Ghana’s OSP said that provides a compelling ground for those people to be independently probed.
“Therefore, it is compelling that investigations be carried out by relevant Ghanaian authorities to ascertain the identity of the referenced individuals as direct subjects of the investigation for closer scrutiny of their actions and to determine whether the acts committed in Ghana amount to criminal offences in Ghana; and whether the acts committed outside Ghana would amount to criminal offences in Ghana if committed in Ghana,” the OSP said in paragraph 5.7 of page 11 of the report.
Conclusion
There is, therefore, no evidence to support Mr Ablakwa’s claim that ex-Ghanaian leader John Mahama was the subject of an international inquiry in the Airbus SE bribery scandal.
