Prof. Smart Sarpong has jabbed Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyebeng for absolving Ex-President John Dramani Mahama from the Airbus scandal.

Airbus, an European aircraft manufacturer, was alleged to have paid bribes in Ghana in the sale of three military aircraft to the country.

The allegations which came to light after a series of investigations and prosecutions of Airbus by the US, the UK and France authorities, led President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to refer the case to the Office of the Special Prosecutor for investigations in February 2020.

Kissi Agyebeng-OSP                                             Prof.Smart Sarpong

Airbus, following nearly 4 years of investigations by authorities in the USA, the UK and France, was fined $3.9 billion for its corrupt practices in Ghana, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Taiwan.

Mahama’s names dropped in this scandal with someone being referred to as “Governor Official 1” who was initially said to be the former President but it was denied.

A recent report by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has found Mahama to be “Governor Official 1”, however he is cleared of the corruption allegations.

“The OSP found no evidentiary basis that suggests that former President John Dramani Mahama or any other public official was induced to improperly favour or did improperly favour Airbus in respect of the purchase by the Government of Ghana of military transport aircraft from Airbus.”

“The Special Prosecutor has directed the closure of the OSP investigation into alleged bribery of high-ranking Ghanaian officials by Airbus SE, through intermediaries, in respect of the sale of military transport aircraft by Airbus SE to the Republic of Ghana between 2009 and 2015.”

Perusing the conclusions by the OSP during Peace FM’s “Kokrokoo” morning show, Prof. Smart Sarpong cautioned Kissi Agyebeng to stay within his jurisdiction of investigating matters and not play the role of the court.

He wondered how Mr. Agyebeng could acquit Mahama when the airline has been found guilty of the allegations and fined over 3 billion dollars.

Prof. Smart Sarpong asked the Special Prosecutor to leave the adjudication of his cases, after his investigations, to the law courts to rule on them.

“Will you now do your own rulings in your office and won’t go to court again?…Will you still be going to court because it looks like you are starting to end cases in your office instead of preparing the case and send it to court?”, he queried the OSP.Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana