President Joseph Boakai’s Assets Recovery Czar, Cllr. Edwin K Martins has named Ghana, Ivory Coast, and Dubai havens for Liberia’s stolen wealth.
By Kruah Thompson
Monrovia, February 21, 2025/Cllr. Martins, who faced legal hurdles from the onset of his taskforce operations, told journalists here on Thursday, February 20, that the three countries were identified by international partners as places where Liberian officials hide their stolen money- in cash and assets.
“Through the aid of our international partners, AREPT (Assets Recovery & Property Retrieval Team) has identified three hotspots in the world where Liberia’s stolen liquid assets have been banked and invested: Ghana, Ivory Coast, and Dubai,” Cllr. Martins said while addressing journalists at the regular MICAT press briefing.
“We are working tirelessly with our partners to ensure that proper international protocols and litigation are applied for the repatriation of those assets,” he added.
Cllr. Martins stated that while his task force was entangled in a legal dispute with one of the companies he suspects was established with stolen government money, he was busy establishing relationships with international partners in the UK, Ghana, and Nigeria to trace stolen wealth from Liberia hidden in those countries.
He said that because of those efforts during their non-active period, one of the partners from the UK is expected to visit Liberia in March this year to assist in reviewing evidence to help the Liberian Government pursue those who looted the country’s coffers.
Liberian President Joseph Boakai issued an executive order in March 2024 to identify and recover stolen state assets and prosecute current and former officials who wrongfully acquired government assets.
However, Cllr. Martins and his team are racing against time and need to act quickly. This is because the Executive Order granting the Assets Recovery Team the authority to pursue stolen state assets, both physical and liquid, expires next month.
When our reporter quizzed Cllr. Martin about the Executive Order’s expiration next month, he (Cllr. Martins) acknowledged that it has a lifespan of one year. However, he expressed confidence that the President would review and renew it to enable his task force to continue.
Meanwhile, he has urged individuals who will be invited for questioning to cooperate with their upcoming investigations, warning that they could face former charges, indictments, and prosecutions if they fail to honor the initiations.
“Ladies and gentlemen of the press, AREPT maintains that, as much as it complies with the rule of law, it calls on persons of interest who will be invited for questioning to also comply and abide by the same rule of law,” said Cllr. Martins.
“Any wilful and deliberate refusal on the part of persons of interest to respect its invitation will leave the investigative panel with no alternative but to use available evidence in its possession to formally charge, indict, and subsequently prosecute said persons in keeping with the rule of law,” Cllr. Martin added.
It could be recalled that the work of the Assets Recovery Taskforce was made difficult due to a legal dispute between Gracious Ride Incorporated and the Assets Recovery Team. The Task Force had seized several vehicles belonging to Gracious Ride Incorporated, alleging they were fraudulently acquired by an ex-official from the former government.
This legal dispute, which had been pending since March 2024, was recently resolved when the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Assets Recovery Team on February 18, 2025.
Commenting on the ruling, Cllr. Martins inadvertently acknowledged some missteps and that his team, following that ruling, has initiated new steps to investigate those suspected of possessing state assets, acquiring suspicious assets, or stealing public funds.
According to him, his team has been able to verify and seize 17 high-profile cases involving theft of public assets, acquisition of suspicious properties, embezzlement through fake road construction companies and fraudulent construction firms, and theft of liquid assets. Edited by Othello B. Garblah.
