Parliament has said that its own internal investigations have established that no member of Parliament or a staff of the Parliamentary Service received bribe in the AKSA Energy emergency power deal.
Accordingly, the Speaker of Parliament, Alban S.K. Bagbin has said the House was forwarding its report to the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) as part of investigations into the issue.
In Parliament on Wednesday, Mr Bagbin said the internal review into allegations that about $46,000 was paid to persons associated with Parliament to facilitate approval of the 2015 AKSA Emergency Power Agreement found no evidence that any MP or Parliamentary Service officer received the alleged payments.
In the United States, a former staff of Goldman Sachs, Asante Kwaku Berko, has been convicted for facilitating the payment of the said bribes to Ghanaian officials.
He is awaiting sentencing in the corruption linked to the development and financing of a power generation project in Ghana by Turkish energy company AKSA.
Speaker Bagbin commissioned an administrative review in his capacity as Speaker and Chairman of the Parliamentary Service Board to establish, from Parliament’s records, what happened during the consideration and approval of the agreement, identify those who participated in the process and determine what information in Parliament’s custody could assist any investigation.
The review examined the Votes and Proceedings of Parliament, official reports, committee records, the report of the Committee on Mines and Energy and the House resolution approving the agreement. It also involved interviews with some former and serving Parliamentary Service officers and a former chairperson of the Committee on Mines and Energy.
To Mr Bagbin, the records and interviews examined did not yield evidence that any MP or Parliamentary Service officer received the alleged payments in connection with the approval of the agreement.
However, he said that the finding should not be interpreted as proof that no payments were made or as clearing any person who may have received them.
He explained that the review was an internal administrative exercise and did not have the powers to summon witnesses, take evidence under oath or compel the production of documents. It also had no access to bank records, financial transactions or communications held outside Parliament.
Mr Bagbin stressed that the exercise was not a criminal investigation and could not determine the guilt or innocence of any person. He said only competent law enforcement agencies could investigate external financial transactions and other evidence relevant to the allegations.
The Speaker has directed that the review report and its supporting documents be formally transmitted to the Office of the Special Prosecutor and any other relevant investigative body for further action.
