Liberia: Former Police Training Chief Charged in US$88,000 Scam

Published: October 1, 2026

Former police training academy chief Saymor K. Mulbah faces theft-by-deception and criminal-conspiracy charges over an alleged US$88,000 contract scheme.

MONROVIA – Police have charged the former head of the Liberia National Police Training Academy with taking US$88,000 in cash and goods from a businessman by promising him supply contracts at the academy that police say never existed.

Saymor K. Mulbah, a former deputy commissioner of police for training and manpower development, is charged with theft of property by deception and criminal conspiracy, according to a police charge sheet dated Sept. 29.

The charge sheet alleges that Mulbah took the money from businessman Khalil Ibrahim Fawaz between November 2025 and June 2026, while he was still deputy commissioner and commandant of the academy. Police say he used that position to convince Fawaz he could secure contracts to supply food, training equipment and other materials to the academy.

According to the charge sheet, Mulbah set up a WhatsApp account with his photograph under the title “A2 Project Officer” to present himself as the official responsible for the contract. Police say he repeatedly asked Fawaz for money, claimed the project would be funded through a United Nations development donor program, and sent him a message he said came from the donor. Police say the message was fake.

When Fawaz asked when the contract would be awarded, Mulbah told him to “forget about the date” but assured him the deal would go through, police allege. Investigators say he also claimed to have attended meetings with officials of the police, the United Nations Development Programme, the Central Bank of Liberia and the National Security Agency to finalize it.

Police allege Mulbah introduced Fawaz to Lomax Geelor, whom he presented as a UNDP representative handling the contract. Geelor has been charged in absentia with impersonating an official and theft of property by deception and remains at large, police said.

Much of the money passed through two mobile money accounts registered to Mulbah, the charge sheet says, and some was handed to him directly. Police say four mobile money operators, Saah Mbwah, Richard M. Karmu, Bernice Vayombo and Jangar Kpadeh, received money from Fawaz several times and transferred it to Mulbah’s numbers. The operators confirmed the transfers but could not state the amounts because they did not keep daily records, police said.

Investigators say statements obtained from the telecommunications companies through court subpoenas corroborated the transactions.

The charge sheet says the police Professional Standards Division had already investigated Mulbah, found him liable for misconduct and criminality, and referred the matter for criminal investigation.

Police said they first called Mulbah on Aug. 6 to appear before the Crime Services Department, but he said he was sick and being treated at a hospital in Bopolu City, Gbarpolu County, and would report after recovering. Superintendent Ansumana Fofana arrested him Sept. 26, according to the charge sheet.