The Office of the Special Prosecutor says it has written to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration asking it to offer Samuel Adam Foster, also known as Adam Mahama, the opportunity to return to Ghana from the UK as investigations into the Airbus bribery scandal continue.
There is a flight to Ghana for Ghanaians stranded in the UK, due to the border closure, scheduled for July 27, 2020.
The office in a statement said it was critical Adam Mahama be allowed to answer for the allegations against him in the 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 in Ghana’s courts.
Interpol subsequently issued a red alert for his arrest after a request by the Special Prosecutor, Martin Amidu.
If Adam Mahama does not respond to the allegations, the Special Prosecutor’s office says the case will be at the mercy of politicisation.
“…Until Samuel Mahama answers in Court for the suspected allegations discovered by the investigation of this Office against him as a Ghanaian citizen, the unwarranted politicization of this simple corruption crime by his family and supporters will continue.”
The voluntary evacuation is also to “assuage not only his own image but also that of his brother the former President [John Mahama], who accuses this Office [of the Special Prosecutor] of tainting his image by the investigation of the suspected allegations,” the statement added.
About the scandal
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 referred the case to the Office of the Special Prosecutor for investigations.
Find below the full statement
