Presidential Jet Scandal: What Or Who Is Gallen?

While arguments as to the propriety otherwise of the acquisition of the Gulfstream Jet G111 aircraft for use as a presidential jet in Ghana rages, Daily Guide can report that the deal was fraught with irregularities.

Questions being raised are:

• 1. why was Ghana’s peace-keeping funds with the United Nations (UN) pledged for the acquisition of the jet?
• 2. Why was it that, although Ghana Armed Forces (GAF)UN peace-keeping Dollar account in New York, USA had enough money to pay the original cost of the Gulfstream jet G111 aircraft, the money was paid directly to the Hong Kong Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) based in the United Kingdom (UK) instead of Tranair Trade of Switzerland which sold the aircraft to Ghana?
• 3. Why was Ghana Government whose money had been pledged as collateral security for a loan obtained from the HSBC not designated as the owner of the Gulfstream jet G111 aircraft, but rather Gallen Ltd. Which were brought in as a third party or a stranger to the sales agreement between Transair Trade and the Ghana Government ?
• 4 why was the ownership of the plane changed from one company to another to as many as four different companies, in one day?

Equally puzzled are the auditors who have been investigating the purchase and lease agreement on the aircraft and the complex nature of the deal. Documents sighted by the Daily Guide reveal that an audit team led by Mr E.B. Lamptey a Chartered Accountant, had a number of queries over the Gulfstream Jet G111 aircraft lease agreement with Gallen Ltd, on behalf of the Ghana Government.

One of the issues raised was that on April 22,1999, the Minister of Finance under the National Democratic Congress (NDC)Government, Mr. Richard Kwame Peprah, asked the Controller and Accountant- General by a letter No A6006/SF.11/Vol 206 on April 23 and April 29, 1999, to direct the treasury officer in New York to transfer, on the first occasion, an amount of $ 14.5 million, and on the second occasion, $1.5million from the Ghana Mission peace-keeping Account No. 003-1-241232, a total of $16million into an account held in favour of Gallen Ltd.

The transfer was made to: Bank PLC, Account Number 6550261045 in favour of HSBC Investment Bank, Project and Export Finance, Account No. 36677440, reference Gallen Ltd.

According to the Minister’s letter under reference, the transfer of $16.0 million was to be effected by Bank of Ghana upon the instruction of the Controller and Accountant – General, and debited to the Consolidated Fund as a charge against budgetary expenditure code No 370-000-000-410-000 (Adjustment to investment Cost) Because of an apparent lack of funds, the Controller and Accountant-General resorted to the use of the UN peace-keeping account to transfer the amount with the intention of causing a refund to be made later into the Ghana Mission refund has, to date, not been made.

The auditor observed that the letter under reference, which caused the transfer of the $16.0 million, provided no linkage to any lease of an aircraft from Gallen Ltd, for which a deposit was required from Ghana to securitize the lease arrangement.