The office of the Special Prosecutor is to commence immediate investigations into the Airbus bribery scandal after President Akufo-Addo has referred to the Office for further investigations.
A letter signed by Communications Director at the Presidency, Eugene Arhin stated that these investigations are expected to be conducted in collaboration with the United Kingdom authorities.
The reports which emerged after the company admitted in a UK court that it paid bribes to officials in some five countries including Ghana between 2009 and 2015 have sparked rumours in Ghana.
Some Ghanaians have challenged NDC which was in charge of the governance of the country during the period to respond to the claims.
In a statement, the former minister of Justice Marietta Brew Appiah-Oppong said the media has misrepresented the facts as happened in the court.
“Our attention has been drawn to media reports about a Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) entered between Airbus SE and the United Kingdom Serious Fraud Office in respect of the practice of Airbus SE in paying commission to its agents and the use of those commissions. The reports alleging that Airbus SE paid bribes during the administration of President John Evans Atta Mills and John Dramani Mahama are false, misleading and do not reflect the Approved Judgment.
“Indeed, the Approved Judgment of the Crown Court of Southwark approving the DPA between Airbus and the UK Serious Fraud Office does not allege that any payment was made by Airbus to any Ghanaian Government official,” the statement said.
It added: “It is therefore a gross distortion for the media to conclude that officials of the Ghana Government between 2009 and 2015 were bribed or paid any commissions by Airbus for the acquisition of the Casa C-295 aircrafts”.
Source: mybrytfmonline
