EXPLOSIVE: Ghana Buys Sputnik Vaccines From Ameri Deal “Brokers” at “Doubled” Prices – Paper Reveals
Norwegian newspaper, Verdens Gang (VG), has revealed that Ghanaian officials were paying double the market price for some Russian Sputnik V vaccines.
In addition to that, the paper revealed that the deal was with the brokers of the controversial Ameri deal, a Sheik Ahmed Dalmook Al Maktoum (34) with direct blood ties to Dubai Royalty.
The newspaper revealed this in its expose on Russian Sputnik vaccines sold at higher prices through intermediaries titled, “Sputnik For Sale”.
The expose published on June 3, 2021, names a Nowergian business man wanted by Norwegian authorities, and the Sheik, as middle-men.
The Most Relevant Parts of the VG Publication to a Ghanaian is Selected and Presented as is From Here On…
It is 3 March and the moment of truth for Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu (65).
A flight from the Emirates is taxiing to the terminal in Accra, capital of Ghana, where the Minister of Health is waiting.
Out step two men: One is a sheik and second cousin of the ruler of Dubai. The other has been on the run from Norwegian police for years.
Boxes containing a total of 16,000 doses of the Russian Sputnik V are unloaded from the plane and placed in front of the Minister of Health.
The sample proves that the Sheik has access to the coronavirus vaccine.
A product sought after by every country in the world. Now, it is time for negotiations.
Six days later, the Ministry of Health in Ghana signs an agreement with the Sheik.
They announce that they have reached an agreement regarding the purchase of 3.4 million vaccine doses.
No price is publicly disclosed.
“I have arranged for vaccines. I was a go-between and conveyed vaccines to Ghana.
“I had Steven (VG claims, the Steven here was Steven Seagal, the one-time Hollywood actor) route them. Bought 5 million doses.
“If I were to tell you how many people made money (from) it, you wouldn’t believe it was true.”, the words of Per Morten Hansen (59), the Norwegian business man as audio recorded and published by VG.
When the Sheik sold overpriced gas turbines to Ghana via the company Ameri Group in 2015, Farooq Zahoor and the Sheik both signed the agreement.
When the Sheik arrives in Ghana to sell vaccines in March of this year, he is once again accompanied by Farooq Zahoor.
A photo from the airport shows the Sheik’s delegation.
VG has also received confirmation from airport staff that Farooq Zahoor was present.
The Sheik’s previous trade caused a political storm in Ghana.
Why did no one react to the fact that the Sheik and Farooq Zahoor had now returned?
If you travel to Ghana today, you will receive a swab up your nose and a bill of USD 150 when you arrive at the airport.
The company that has been awarded the contract to perform the testing, is owned by another company, which, in turn, is owned by a company in the Commonwealth of Dominica, a tiny tax haven in the Caribbean, which conceals the true owners.
The company was awarded the lucrative contract from the state without any tender procedure.
The pandemic has in several cases been used to set aside standard tender procedures in Ghana, which increases the risk of corruption, according to the report “Strengthening Covid-19 Accountability Mechanisms (SCAM)”.
The agreement to purchase Sputnik vaccines did not go via the Parliament of Ghana, which is a statutory requirement for international agreements, says Member of Parliament Kwabena Miontah Akandoh (40).
He is the Minority ranking member on the Health Committee of Parliament.
The major private health organizations have also not been informed.
Normally, they take part in detailed budgeting of purchases of e.g., malaria or HIV medication together with the government, explains Gabriel Benarkuu, who is the head of a coalition of health organisations in Ghana (GCNH).
During the coronavirus pandemic, the situation has been different.
“Everything that has to do with Covid funding and purchases has occurred with zero insight into how the money has been spent”, says Benarkuu.
– Have you been informed of how the Sputnik agreement was established?
– No, I have no idea, he says.
The Ministry of Health has not responded to any questions. However, as VG is about to leave the country, a phone call is received from the Ministry of Finance, requesting a visit from VG.
A group of bureaucrats receive VG but note that the entire process has taken place in the Ministry of Health.
– They signed the contract, we just pay at the end of the day, says one of the bureaucrats.
– What do you know about the price?
– I have a fairly good idea, at least regarding Maktoum (the Sheik, journalist notes), so I know that they sold for 19 dollars.
With 3.4 million sold doses, this entails a potential profit exceeding 250 million, before expenses for storage and transport.
The Ministry of Finance informs that Ghana has currently only paid for 300,000 doses.
VG has subsequently informed Hansen that the audio of the conversation where he discusses his role in the trade has been recorded.
Lawyer Christian Flemmen Johansen of Elden Law Firm states that he represents both Steven Seagal and Per Morten Hansen in this matter.
He has sent the following statement after VG confronted Hansen with the audio recording.
“I have discussed the matter with Steven Seagal and Per Morten Hansen.
“Seagal is clear that he has no knowledge of or involvement in the sale of vaccines to Ghana and has no further comments to the information in the story.
“Hansen states that he is not involved in the vaccine trade anywhere in the world”.
After the interview, Umar Farooq Zahoor has asked to withdraw all his statements and also refers to his lawyer John Christian Elden of Elden Law firm.
Wednesday of this week, Ghana’s Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, calls VG:
– The agreement with the Sheik, do you view it as a sensible agreement? To pay 19 dollars per dose?
” I don’t know. You know, you are confronted with “the good guys” from the West not giving you any assurances of supply [of vaccines], and you have 30 million people and are to save lives.
“You know, it’s easy to sit somewhere else and say: Why are you doing this? But you need to make sure you protect your people.
“You manage that as well as you can. This is a all a contrived and manufactured crisis, because clearly there’s enough [vaccines] to go around if only there was equity and justice in what we are doing”, Ken Ofori Atta responded.
SPUTNIK V:
- Developed at the Gameleja Institute in Moscow.
- Sold through the Russian investment fund, RDIF.
- The Russians state that the international price is around 10$ per dose.
- The European Medicines Agency have not approved the vaccine for use.
FOR GHANA there have been three pathways to the vaccine:
1. The international vaccine alliance Covax.
2. The African Union, similar to how Norway relies of the EU.
3. Separate agreements entered into directly with vaccine manufacturers or others with access to vaccines.
Excerpts of the Ghanaian Interest of VG’s Publication Ended in the Previous Sentence.
How Much is The Sputnik V Sold On The Market?
“Africa is a key market for Sputnik V,” said the Russian Direct Investment Fund, a Kremlin-run wealth fund overseeing Sputnik V’s foreign sales.
“Our international price of just under $10 per dose is the same for all markets”, as reported by Financial Times (ft.com).
Sputnik V recipients require two doses, meaning the cost per individual is $20.
IN THE AFTERMATH OF THE PUBLICATION, WHAT’S HAPPENED IN GHANA?
Minority in Parliament has called for a bipartisan Parliamentary probe into reports that the government is purchasing Covid-19 vaccines from Russia at almost a hundred percent of its original price.
The Ranking Member on Parliament’s Health Committee, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh who spoke to JoyNews, Tuesday, June 8, accused some state officials of exploiting the government’s fight against the pandemic.
“Well I would want to satisfy myself as a ranking member and a minority group, we have to satisfy ourselves to know the truth of the matter.
“And so we will call for investigations and then if we are not satisfied, we will call for an independent investigation into the matter,
“Because the Minister himself is complicit in this matter, so we will call for a bipartisan investigation into this matter,” he stated.
CONCLUSIONS FROM THE VG EXPOSE
Earlier this month, the Minister of State-designate at the Finance Ministry, Mr Charles Adu-Boahen stated that the government will spend an amount of $400 million to procure the needed vaccines to attain herd immunity.
“The projection is to be able to vaccinate a total of 70% of the population, if you put the population at 30 million that means about 21 million people. On average,
“Depending on which vaccine it is that you buy, if we even average 10 dollars per shot then 20 dollars will be, so you have 20 dollars times 21 million, I think that’s about $400 million, “he added.
The $400 million estimate by the Minister was arrived at with the assumption that, a dose went for $10, but now we know it doesn’t.
So at the new rate the government is buying the Sputnik V vaccine, which is $19 a dose, the new total for 21 million people, with one person needing two doses is somewhere around $798 million.
Of course that is assuming the minister referred to purchasing the Sputnik V vaccine from the Sheik and his intermediaries in that statement.
HOW MUCH ARE OTHER VACCINES BEING SOLD ON THE MARKET?
Oxford/AstraZeneca and Novavax jabs made by the Serum Institute of India sells at $3 a dose.
$6.75 a dose for the BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine and $10 for Johnson & Johnson’s, a single-dose product.
Moderna’s two-shot inoculation is priced at $32 to $37 per dose.
WHAT WAS SAID ABOUT THE DEAL TO MEDIA?
A release from the Ghana health ministry said, “The supply of the vaccine is part of an arrangement between government and the Private Office of Sheikh Ahmed Dalmook Al Maktoum, a member of the Royal Family of the United Arab Emirates.”
It added, “The agreement was signed on March 9, 2021 to help the people of Ghana bring to a halt the devastations of the ongoing pandemic.”
The Private Office of the Sheik in turn said, “it is dedicated to supplying underserved regions such as Ghana as well as the rest of the continent of Africa.”
It further committed to adhere to fulfilling the challenging logistical processes of transporting, storing and delivering the vaccines.
The Private Office of Sheikh Ahmed Dalmook Al Maktoum also promised to give the necessary support required to adequately administer the vaccines to the people of the Republic of Ghana.
“This mandate is a testament to the strong bilateral relationship between the United Arab Emirates and Ghana,
“And the commitment of Sheikh Ahmed Dalmook Al Maktoum’s Private Office to the Country, to fight the destructive aftermath of the pandemic,
“And to restore the health and economy of the nation working alongside Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, Minister of Health”, it stated.
DISCREPENCY AND CONFUSION WITH THE NUMBER OF RUSSIA SPUTNIK V VACCINES SECURED, AND THAT WHICH HAS BEEN PAID FOR.
It was announced after negotiations with the Sheik that an agreement regarding the purchase of 3.4 million vaccine doses had been reached.
On the Sheiks delivery and vaccine negotiation visit to Ghana, he brought with him boxes containing a total of 16,000 doses of the Russian Sputnik V, which Ghana’s Health Minister took in.
The Ministry of Finance informs that Ghana has currently only paid for 300,000 doses.
HOW MUCH MONEY IS THE SHEIK WALKING AWAY WITH IN THIS GHAN DEAL?
With 3.4 million sold doses, this entails a potential profit exceeding $250 million, before expenses for storage and transport.
ABOUT VG
Verdens Gang, generally known under the abbreviation VG, is a Norwegian tabloid newspaper. In 2016, circulation numbers stood at 93,883, having declined from a peak circulation of 390,510 in 2002. VG is nevertheless the most read online newspaper in Norway, with about 2 million daily readers.
Sources: VG (https://www.vg.no/spesial/2021/sputnik/index-en.html) | My Joy Online (https://www.myjoyonline.com/minority-calls-for-bipartisan-probe-into-purchase-of-sputnik-vaccines) |Financial Times (https://www.ft.com/content/ffe40c7d-c418-4a93-a202-5ee996434de7) | NB: Sources are presented in order of significance.
