A member of the legal team of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Abraham Amaliba has described as “ridiculous” and a “hoax”, the red alert issued for the arrest of Samuel Adam Mahama in connection with the Airbus Bribery Scandal.
Samuel Adam Fosters also known as Samuel Adam Mahama 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”.
According to Interpol, if successfully prosecuted he is liable to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 25 years.
But speaking on the Morning Starr on Friday, Amaliba said Interpol only issues red alerts for people who are running away from criminal proceeding in a particular jurisdiction adding that the whole process in issuing the alert is wrong and unlawful.
“It is issued for people who run away from the criminal justice system from a country and I am asking a simple question has Adam run away from the system?. So I am attacking the procedure and I am saying that it is wrong in law, it is not done that way.
“Checks have revealed that this alert is not on the website, all red alerts are on the website…and so I am telling you that it is improper, it is wrong, it is a hoax and it is meant to please the government of the day to look as if president Mahama benefited from whatever is alleged that Adam Mahama engaged in.”
Background
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.
In the case of Ghana, the UK court found that the company’s bribe was to land the contract to purchase a military transport aircraft.
“Between 1 July 2011 and 1 June 2015 Airbus SE failed to prevent persons associated with Airbus SE from bribing others concerned with the purchase of military transport aircraft by the Government of Ghana, where the said bribery was intended to obtain or retain business or advantage in the conduct of business for Airbus SE,” the court’s statement of offence noted.
The documents indicated that one of the unnamed Ghanaian officials was “a key decision-maker in respect of Government of Ghana aircraft orders.”
A number of Airbus employees “made or promised success-based commission payments of approximately €5 million” to one of the Ghanaians implicated in the acts of corruption.
-starrfmonline
