Airbus Scandal: Meet the 4 persons invited by Martin Amidu to assist in investigations (PHOTOS)

The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has invited four individuals to assist in investigations into an alleged act of bribery and related offence in the purchase of three aircraft from Airbus SE for Ghana.

The OSP headed by Special Prosecutor Martin Amidu is upon completion of a preliminary investigation, inviting a UK/Ghanaian citizen Samuel Adam Foster alias Samuel Adam Mahama and UK nationals; Philip Sean Middlemiss; Sarah Davis and Sarah Furneaux.

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A public notice by the OSP said the individuals identified by acronym in the Statement of Facts and accepted as findings of fact in a judgement of the UK Crown Court are to assist in the investigation of corruption and corruption-related offences in the purchase of the Aircraft.

A public notice by the OSP said: "SAMUEL ADAM FOSTER a. k. a. SAMUEL ADAM MAHAMA a UK/Ghanaian citizen, and the three other UK nationals: PHILIP SEAN MIDDLEMISS, LEANNE SARAH DAVIS and SARAH FURNEAUX are hereby invited to assist the Office of the Special Prosecutor in the on-going investigation of bribery and corruption involving in excess of 3,596,523.00 Euros and 1,665,000.00 Euros respectively, and collaborating with Ghanaian public Officers to use their public office for private profit or benefit in the purchase of three (3) C-295 aircraft by the Government of Ghana from Airbus SE".

Background of four individuals

1. SAMUEL ADAM FOSTER a. k. a. SAMUEL ADAM MAHAMA was born in Tamale on 14 December 1962 to Emmanuel Adamah Mahama and Nana Suluwu. His current Ghanaian passport was guaranteed by John Dramani Mahama, described as former President of Ghana as first guarantor, and Alfred Abdulai Mahama, described as a Civil Servant, as second guarantor. Alfred, John, and Samuel are brothers of the full blood in descending order of seniority. His UK address is: 19 Avenue Road Penge, London, SE20 7RT, UK

2. PHILIP SEAN MIDDLEMISS was born at Gateshead to a pub landlady, Yvonne Lloyd, on 19 June 1963 and given up for adoption ten days later to one Alex Middlemiss and his wife June. His UK address is: The Square, Ringley Chase, Whitefield, Manchester, United Kingdom, M45 7UL. He listed his pre 2009 employment as a UK television actor and film director. He described himself during the Airbus SE bribery transaction as a Project Manager. His address in Ghana has predominantly been stated as House No. 19 Agostinho Neto Road, Airport Residential Area, Accra. SAMUEL ADAM MAHAMA and PHILIP SEAN MIDDLEMISS were in Ghana at the same time and are Directors and Shareholders in Ghana of DEEDUM LIMITED issued with a Certificate to Commence Business on 8 December 2009 with registration number CA-67,930 and TIN 524V056743. SAMUEL ADAM MAHAMA and PHILIP SEAN MIDDLEMISS along with LEANNE SARAH DAVIS incorporated a company of the same name DEEDUM LIMITED in the UK in February 2010. DEEDUM LIMITED (UK) was the corporate vehicle through which SAMUEL ADAM MAHAMA and his associates purported to have provided services to Airbus to facilitate the suspected commission of corruption and corruption-related offences against Ghana in the sale of the C-295 aircraft.

3. SARAH FURNEAUX was born on 18 May 1964 at Leicester. She is a Director with SAMUEL ADAM FOSTER who is her partner or spouse in FURNEAUX AVIATION LIMITED since 13 February 2013 and now known as FURNEAUX LIMITED. Her address in Ghana is always provided as House No. 19 Agostinho Neto Road, Airport Residential Area, Accra. They were engaged in the second campaign to sell the third aircraft to the Government of Ghana acting as fronts for the Ghanaian elected public official or officials.

4. LEANNE SARAH DAVIS became a Director and shareholder with, her partner or spouse PHILIP SEAN MIDDLEMISS of DEEDUM LIMITED (UK) after SAMUEL ADAM MAHAMA ceased his Directorship. She is an intermediary referred to in the Statement of Facts and judgment of the UK Crown Court and was also a former UK television actress.

Background

It will be recalled that in February this year, the Office of the President formally petitioned the Office of the Special Prosecutor, informing it about allegations of bribery in the acquisition of three military aircraft by the government between 2009 and 2015.

“We have officially written to the Office of the Special Prosecutor this morning, drawing his attention to the allegations. As a constitutionally mandated body, we expect him to take it up,” a source at the Presidency told the Daily Graphic.

Airbus, the European aircraft manufacturer, is alleged to have paid bribes in Ghana when it sold the three military aircraft.

The aerospace multinational admitted hiring the brother of a top elected Ghanaian official as its consultant for the pitch to sell the aircraft to the country.

Again, Airbus confessed paying the said consultant through a third party when its Compliance Unit raised red flags about the close relationship between the consultant and the top elected official, who was a key decision-maker in the purchase of the military aircraft.

Coordinated investigations of Airbus by the US Department of Justice (DOJ), the SFO of the UK and the Parquet National Financier (PNF) of France culminated in the company being fined $3.9 billion for its corrupt practices in Ghana, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Taiwan within the same period. The $3.9-billion fine is one of the largest in the world against a corporate body.

The US, the UK and France authorities imposed the fine in a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA).

Airbus was found guilty of failing to prevent its employees and others associated with the company from bribing officials during deals for the purchase of its aircraft and other products and also for breaking US export regulations with regard to its International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR).

The DPA was approved in separate judgments by the Queen’s Bench Division of the UK Crown Court at Southwark and the US District Court for the District of Columbia last Friday.

Ghana

Court documents published by the DOJ of the US and the SFO of the UK revealed how Airbus employed different tactics to bribe officials in many countries, including Ghana, in order to secure lucrative contracts.

In the case of Ghana, Airbus allegedly paid more than €3 million through a third party.

“In fact, Airbus and its vendors had paid, offered or agreed to pay political contributions, fees or commissions in connection with these sales in the amount of at least €3,596,523,” the facts, as presented by the DOJ to the District Court in the USA, stated.

According to the DOJ’s facts, a high ranking elected official, which the document mentioned as “Individual 1” (who was in office from 2009 to 2016), made direct contact with the Airbus management about the purchase of the aircraft a few months after he took office.

“Individual 1 was influential in having the government of Ghana approve aircraft purchases and Individual 1 contacted Airbus senior executives during the government approval process. In 2011, during Individual 1’s time in office, the Ghanaian Parliament approved the purchase of C-295 aircraft,” the facts said.

As part of the sale of the aircraft to Ghana, the DOJ said, Airbus contracted the brother of “Individual 1”, who was named as “Consultant 4”, to act as the third-party agent of the company during the sale of the aircraft.

“Airbus purposefully sought to engage Consultant 4 due to his closeness to Individual 1, and the Airbus management included Consultant 4 in its communications with Individual 1. Airbus used Consultant 4 as a conduit for messages intended for Individual 1. Consultant 4 traded on his access to Individual 1,” the DOJ said.

Airbus reaction

In an official reaction posted on its website, Airbus stated that the DPA reached with the authorities in the US, the UK and France concluded all investigations into its activities by the three countries.

According to the company, the outcome was as a result of the “reporting, cooperation and new compliance standards at Airbus” and added that it was “determined to conduct its businesses with integrity”.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Airbus, Mr Guillaume Faury, said the company had learnt many lessons from the incident.

AIRBUS SE [GHANA] BRIBERY - SUMMARY OF INVESTIGATIONS by Kweku Zurek on Scribd