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Special counsel Martin Amidu says he would have questioned NDC presidential candidate John Dramani Mahama if not for the upcoming elections.
Mr. Amidu says that the former president seeking re-election is the infamous “government official 1” whose “brother is Samuel Adam Mahama.”
These statements are part of a risk assessment report that the Special Prosecutor’s Office presented to the government on the Agyapa Royalty Agreement.
Amidu goes beyond the deal with Agyapa to give an update on some of the key cases his office has been investigating.
The International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) issued a Red Notice to Samuel Adam Fosters, also known as Samuel Adam Mahama, in July in connection with his role in the Airbus bribery scandal.
He is wanted for allegedly accepting a bribe to influence a public official and acting in collaboration with a public official for the private benefit of the public official.
A red notice is a request to law enforcement agencies around the world to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender or similar legal action.
Ghana is one of five countries in which the European aviation giant Airbus paid or attempted to pay millions of dollars in bribes in exchange for contracts, leading a British court to impose a £ 3 billion fine on the company.
In court documents and hearings, Airbus admitted to five counts of failing to prevent bribery, using a network of undercover agents to pay officials from foreign countries, including Ghana, for high-value contracts.
The plan was run by a unit at Airbus’ French headquarters, which its former chief executive, Tom Enders, allegedly called a “shitty castle.”
According to the report, there are six key players involved in the scandal regarding Ghana.
UK OFS investigators identified them only as Government Official 1 (senior and elected), Intermediary 5 (British citizen and close relative of Government Official 1), Company D (corporate vehicle for Intermediary 5 – shareholder) , Intermediary 6 (British national and associate of Intermediary 5), Intermediary 7 (British national and associate of Intermediary 5), as well as Intermediary 8 (Spanish company and front for Intermediary 5).
Mr. Amidu says his investigation has so far revealed that three blood brothers participated in a forgery and tricked a public official into obtaining a passport for Samuel Adam Mahama.
He goes on to explain why he has not questioned the NDC candidate.
“The only reason the former president has not been invited for questioning is the fact that he got insurance as a presidential candidate from Ghana’s other major political party and prudence ruled that the questioning be kept on hold this season electoral.
“The former president has also not offered to make any voluntary statements to this office,” Amidu said in the statement.
