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‘Fixing The Country’ Movement petition Special Prosecutor to investigate Mahama on Airbus scandal

A pro-government group, ‘Fixing The Country’ has served notice that it will petition the Special Prosecutor to revisit the Airbus Bus scandal.
John Mahama
John Mahama

According to the group, former President John Mahama must be held accountable for his actions in the scandal.

In a press conference in Accra, the leader of the group, Ernest Owusu Bempah, said holding Mahama responsible will be nothing new given that a number of former presidents on the continent and elsewhere have been jailed for corruption offences committed during their tenure.

He specifically cited former South African president Jocob Zuma who was recemtly jailed by the country's top court for contempt whiles he still faces a raft of corruption charges during his time in government.

Owusu Bempah believes that Mahama is the person code-named 'Government Official 1' in the Airbus scandal report.

“It can be agreed that, the fight against corruption is a major challenge. The speedy trial and imprisonment of the henchmen of frustrated John Mahama will end this obscene irony. Which is why Fixing The Country Movement is in the process of petitioning the Special Prosecutor to revisit the Airbus corruption scandal and deal appropriately with John Mahama.”

"As matter of fact a host of former world leaders have served time behind bars for corruption committed while they were in power. From Europe to Middle East to Asia to South America to Africa. The list is endless. "Some have been able to avoid prison through appeals and others are on trial, such as South Africa’s past president Jacob Zuma who is facing 16 counts of graft from before his presidency,” the Bempah, flanked by other leaders of the group, said.

He added that the ‘Movement’ was particularly angered by recent comments by Mahama, who during his "Thank You Tour" of the northern regions made comments to the effect that the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo government was engaging in grand corruption.

Airbus, Europe’s largest aerospace multinational, admitted paying huge bribes in order to secure contracts in Ghana, under the erstwhile Mills-Mahama administration.

Airbus was found guilty by a High Court in London and is to pay a fine of 3 billion pounds (£3bn) as penalties. Anti-corruption investigators according to The Guardian Report, have described the court’s decision as to the largest ever corporate fine for bribery in the world after judges declared that corruption was “grave, pervasive and pernicious.”

The Serious Fraud Office’s (SFO’s) investigation related to bribery offences in Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Indonesia, and Ghana. The PNF’s investigation related to bribery and corruption offences in China, Colombia, Nepal, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia (Arabsat), Taiwan and Russia.

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