How Airbus paid bribes for the sale of military planes in Ghana in 2009, 2015

UK prosecutors said Airbus employees promised commission payments based on success

According to documents released by a UK court, it emerged that some senior Ghanaian government officials under the Mills-Mahama administration received bribes from the world’s largest airliner Airbus between 2009 and 2015.

British prosecutors said Airbus employees pledged success-based commission payments of around 5 million euros to bribe government officials to acquire a proposed military aircraft sale in Ghana.

Although the names were not mentioned, court documents revealed that a close relative of a senior government official was “a key decision maker regarding the proposed sale of three military transport planes, adding that ; “A number of Airbus employees knew that (Intermediary 5 (five) as listed by the court was a close relative of a government official in Ghana”

“False documentation has been created by or with the consent of Airbus employees in order to support and disguise these payments,” the court documents further revealed.

Prosecutors added that the company, during investigations, failed to prevent people associated with the company from bribing other airlines.

“Between July 1, 2011 and June 1, 2015, Airbus SE did not prevent persons associated with Airbus SE from bribing other persons affected by the purchase of military transport aircraft by the Government of Ghana, when said corruption was aimed at obtaining or retaining business or an advantage in the conduct of Airbus SE’s business, ”the court statement read.

Airbus, which has now been convicted, is set to pay just under € 1bn ($ 1.11bn) in a UK settlement to end a three-and-a-half-year criminal investigation into allegations of fraud, bribery and corruption.

The deal under a three-year Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA), ratified by the High Court in London on Friday, means the European aircraft maker is avoiding prosecution in London in a case that has involved transactions involving more than a dozen countries.

Read the court story on Ghana below: