Mr. Daniel McKorley, of the McDan Group, has clarified to Whatsup News that he paid cash to purchase his new Bombardier Challenger 604 jets that had generated suspicion that he was fronting for some politically connected individuals.
Mr. McKorley also known as McDan who has been given a contract to operate the Terminal 1 of the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) as a Fixed Base Operator (FBO) told Whatsup News exclusively that his company intends to buy about three jetliners including choppers which would be used for various commercial services.
‘I paid cash for my plane,’ McDan had exclusively told Whatsup News in a face-to-face interview after the e-newspaper had raised suspicion around the aircraft deal.
When asked how much it cost to acquire the aircraft, McDan did not oblige but confirmed that he had bought three aircraft.
Unconfirmed estimations put the price of each aircraft within the region of US$30 million.
Whatsup News had trailed the first aircraft which was delivered to McDan Aviation last week and had reported on the brow-raising and convoluted route the aircraft took to be authorised to operate in the Ghanaian airspace.
The Bombardier jet was acquired and serviced in the United Kingdom but was registered in the Isle of Man, a notorious tax haven off the coast of the UK and known to be a favourite haven for hiding assets of businessmen and politicians.
McDan who revealed that he owns a company on the Isle of Man described the place as a den of “Gorillas”, but insists that his business there is legitimate. McDan has also revealed he operate offices in Germany, Canada, Dubai, the United States of America,(USA) and some other parts of the world.
Whatsup News had questioned his capacity to buy those aircraft, given reports that he was indebted to some State companies. But McDan dismissed that saying, he can only pin his fingers on the fact that he owes only the Ghana Airport Company Limited (GACL).
However, he did not disclose the quantum of the said indebtedness.
Investigations and accounts by some staff of the GACL indicate that the said debt is in the region of GHC 18 million owed in rent, fees, premium for freight, concession fees, warehouses and logistics. The business ‘dragon’ said he commits no crime by owing the airport company and that he rather brings useful revenues that the company badly needs to turn around.
‘Businesses like mine, must be encouraged and supported to blossom to give the needed life to the Ghanaian economy’, he emphasised.
Meanwhile, in Whatsup News story last week, a trace was done on the movement of McDan’s aircraft on September 14, 2021, when it made a seven-hour trip from Accra to Cape Verde and then to Teterboro Airport in New Jersey-USA.
The trip had raised suspicions among aviation watchers due to Cape Verde’s notorious reputation as a narcotic drug transit hotbed in West Africa.
But Mr. Mckorley dismissed any suspicious connotations to the trip, saying he is a genuine businessman who walks the tight rope of the law. He also makes it clear that his business success is not tied to any government and that he had earned his wealth the hard way by starting off on the streets.
Mr. McKorley explained that his new bombardier could only make 9hrs non-stop flight so there was a need to refuel before making a 13hrs journey to the USA.
The McDan boss claims he has only one contract from the Akufo-Addo government and that is the commission of his company to undertake a sea defence project in the Central Region. In an interesting story reminiscent of the fictional character called Garry Cooper in the Hollywood movie of 1936, (“The Deeds goes to Town”), Mr McKorley recounts his life as a homeless street boy who funded his education from being a drivers’ mate to becoming a philanthropist.