Airbus bribery scandal: Interpol issues warrant for arrest of Adam Mahama

• Posted on July 16, 2020July 16, 2020
• by Nana Kwesi Coomson
• Comment

Interpol has issued an arrest warrant for Samuel Adam Foster, also known as Adam Mahama for prosecution over his role in the Airbus bribery scandal.

He is being charged with “accepting a bribe to influence a public officer” and “acting in collaboration with a public officer for the public officer’s private profit”.

Adam Mahama is facing up to 25 years in prison.

The warrant sighted by Citi News noted that “extradition will be sought upon the arrest of the person, in conformity with national laws and/or the applicable bilateral and multilateral treaties.”

On January 31, 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.

This led to a record £3 billion in settlement by Airbus with France, the United Kingdom and the United States to avoid corporate criminal charges.

President Akufo-Addo later reffered the Airbus bribery scandal to the Office of the Special Prosecutor for investigations.

These investigations were expected to be conducted in collaboration with UK authorities, according to a statement from the presidency.

In addition to Ghana, the company allegedly paid bribes to officials in Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Taiwan within the same period.

The UK’s Serious Fraud Office, however, in its statement of fact did not name the individual Ghanaian officials nor the Airbus agents involved in the crime because investigations were still ongoing.

Payments in Ghana

In the case of Ghana, the UK court found that the company’s bribe was to land the contract of purchase of a military transport aircraft.

“Between 1 July 2011 and 1 June 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,” the court’s statement of offence noted.

The documents indicated that one of the unnamed Ghanaian officials was “a key decision-maker in respect of Government of Ghana aircraft orders.”

A number of Airbus employees “made or promised success-based commission payments of approximately €5 million” to one of the Ghanaians implicated in the acts of corruption.

Allegations against Mahama

Although no names were listed by the UK’s Serious Fraud Office, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has come out to insist that former President John Mahama is the person identified as the “elected Government Official 1? named in US and UK court documents.

The National Democratic Congress (NDC), which was in power during the period the bribes were allegedly paid, denied the claims.

Mr. Mahama also said he was not part of any underhand dealings in the matter.

He held that claims that he made some financial gains from the purchase of the two aircraft for the Ghana Armed Forces were untrue.