UK Prosecutors Abandon Investigation Infamous Airbus Bribery Scandal

UK Prosecutors have reportedly closed investigations into persons suspected to have perpetrated bribery in the Airbus SE international bribery scandal.

In 2019, Airbus agreed to pay US$4billion in settlement to the British, French and US governments over bribes it paid for contracts in several countries through middlemen, after a four-year probe.

The decision to close cases against individuals is likely to open floodgates for legal suits against the UK SFO. 

Agents of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) had speculated that when the SFO named one “Government Official One” as having received bribes from Samuel Adams Mahama, the unnamed official must have been ex-President John Dramani Mahama.

Mahama and his handlers had denied knowledge of any such bribe in what has been validated by the latest twist in the British SFO’s new position on the matter.

Already, Sean Middlemiss, who was alleged to have facilitated bribes to Ghanaian officials in respect of the country’s purchase of three aircraft from Airbus in 2010, has said he is suing the SFO for causing him psychological trauma and financial stress in the three years that he was put under investigation.

He together with UK/Ghanaian citizen Samuel Adam and UK nationals; Sarah Davis and Sarah Furneaux had also been cited as persons of interest in an investigation that then Special Prosecutor, Martin Amidu, had opened in Ghana over allegations that Airbus had paid bribes to officials of the former Mahama government, including President Mahama himself.

It would be recalled that Airbus reached a deal with British, French and U.S. prosecutors after a four-year probe stemming from accusations that it used middlemen to win over officials with bribes when it entered new markets. The settlement left the possibility open for individuals to be charged later.

Last month, the Serious Fraud Office had changed the description of its probe into the company, reports Bloomberg. 

Beforehand, the website had said “the SFO investigation remains active and the position in relation to individuals is being considered.” It no longer has any reference to individuals and says the case remains open until the end of the settlement period, which concludes January 31, 2023.

Last week, a disbanded Airbus unit GPT Special Project Management Ltd. pleaded guilty to one count of corruption as part of the SFO’s probe into work it carried out for the Saudi Arabian National Guard. 

It was fined just over 28 million pounds ($39 million) by a London judge, who said the plea formed “part of a history of corruption that had existed for a number of years, before and after the indictment period.”