The Assets Recovery and Property Retrieval Task Force (AREPT) has uncovered a questionable practice involving insurance companies profiting from criminal defendants by charging significant fees for bail bonds, raising serious concerns about financial transparency in the justice system.
One such case came to light on Thursday in the courtroom of Criminal Court “C,” where Sky International Insurance Company was found to have collected a total of US$851,900 in bond fees from six of the 11 individuals accused of misappropriating rice donated by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in April 2023. The rice, valued at US$425,918 and totaling 29,412 bags (735,300 kilograms), was provided through the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center to support food security and assist vulnerable communities in Liberia.
Judge Joe Barkon denied the bonds posted by Sky on behalf of the defendants and gave the company 10 days to submit a comprehensive report detailing all bonds it has filed across the country in both criminal and civil cases. He, however, did not order the re-arrest of the six defendants, who will now need to seek new bonds from other insurance companies as the fees paid to Sky are non-refundable.
The defendants whose bonds were denied include former National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) Executive Director Henry O. Williams, former NDMA logistics officer Rosetta Gbassay Bowah, former NDMA Communications Director Archievego M. Doe, as well as Augustine Kollie, Evelyn Gbee, and Memie Davis of the General Services Agency (GSA).
Prosecutors challenged Sky’s financial ability to back the bonds, arguing that while the company’s financial statement for December 31, 2024, lists total assets of US$1,271,569, a Clerk’s Certificate dated July 2, 2025, revealed that Sky had posted bonds amounting to US$11,491,864 before Criminal Court “A.” This figure, they argued, far exceeds the company’s stated assets, raising doubts about its solvency.
Judge Barkon emphasized that although these were criminal appearance bonds, not indemnity bonds, an insurance company must remain financially sound to fulfill its obligations.
“This Court says that though the bonds posted by the Defendants in this case are criminal appearance bonds and not indemnity bonds to indemnify the prevailing party, it is expedient for an Insurance Company to be in a favorable financial position either for transactional and investment purposes, and not only in cases of litigation,” Barkon ruled.
He ordered the Clerk of Court to notify Sky International Insurance Company to submit the full report within 10 days, warning that the company’s current financial posture could put it at risk of insolvency or bankruptcy if it were required to meet its obligations.
