It has emerged that one of Ghana’s intermediaries negotiating for the procurement of Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccines is an ex-convict.
Umar Farouk, who worked in Norway as a travel agent, was convicted for embezzlement by the Norwegian government and is also wanted in Switzerland for allegedly engaging in bank fraud.
A reporter of the Norwegian newspaper, Verdens Gang, Markus Tobiassen, revealed this in an exclusive interview on Adom FM’s morning show, Dwaso Nsem programme Thursday.
He said Umar is a partner of the Emirati official, Sheikh Ahmed Dalmook Al Maktoum, engaged by Ghana to procure the Sputnik V vaccines.
Markus Tobiassen said Umar has not been apprehended because he is now domiciled in Dubai which does not have an extradition treaty with Norway.
Their motivation for this investigation, he stated, is to expose Umar who is part of middlemen allegedly selling vaccines to African countries at exorbitant prices at the expense of their citizens.
“The uneven distribution of the vaccine and lack of supply has created a market in which intermediaries are able to charge high premium for selling vaccines and we are still investigating to expose them,” Markus Tobiassen added.
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