Airbus scandal: ‘Government official one was Ghana’s Vice President between 2009 and 2012’ — OSP

The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has disclosed that former President John Dramani Mahama is the "Government Official 1" mentioned in the global Airbus bribery scandal.

Addressing the media on Thursday, August 8, Special Prosecutor Kissi Agyebeng revealed that his office had obtained confirmation from UK and US authorities that Mahama was indeed the unnamed Ghanaian government official referred to in court documents.

"The OSP confirms the identity of the following individuals. The individual described as Government official 1 by the UK court and individual one by the US court is John Dramani Mahama.

“He is a citizen of Ghana and was the Vice-president of Ghana from 7 January 2009 to 24 July 2012," Mr. Agyebeng stated.

Mahama was Vice President at the time Ghana purchased three military aircraft - C295s - from Airbus between 2009 to 2015.

UK and US courts had established that Airbus paid millions in bribes to intermediaries of a "Government Official 1" to influence the contracts.

However, the Special Prosecutor said no evidence of corruption can be found against the former President.