Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo has referred the Airbus bribery scandal to the Office of the Special Prosecutor to investigate the matter, reports monitored in Accra on Monday has revealed.
The investigations are expected to be conducted in collaboration with the United Kingdom authorities, according to a statement from the presidency.
The statement noted that the Special Prosecutor Office will “collaborate with its UK counterparts to conduct a prompt inquiry to determine the complicity or otherwise of any Ghanaian government official, past or present, involved in the said scandal.”
The President, according to the statement, wants “necessary legal action taken against any such official, as required by Ghanaian law”.
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.
In addition to Ghana, the company allegedly paid bribes to officials in Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Taiwan within the same period.
President Akufo-Addo therefore referred the matter to the Office of the Special Prosecutor to allow state investigations into the scandal.
DAP/GIK/APA