Liberia-Former Finance Minister Samuel D. Tweah will now have some level of relief as Criminal Court “C” has granted him a bail of US$8 million following his surprised appearance at the court on Wednesday, September 25, 2024.
The former Finance Minister surrendered to Criminal Court ‘C’ yesterday after arriving in the country Monday night.
Tweah, who surrendered himself to the court along with ex-National Security Advisor, Jefferson Karmoh, and former Solicitor General, Cllr. Nyanti Tuan, faces multiple charges, including economic sabotage, fraud, and criminal conspiracy.
Following his surrender, the court granted Tweah US$8 million bail, setting his trial for November 12.
These indictments stem from an investigation by the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC) which has accused the former officials of orchestrating a scheme that diverted over L$1 billion and US$500,000 from the Financial Intelligence Agency (FIA).
These funds, meant for national security and financial oversight, reportedly disappeared under dubious circumstances between September 8 and 21, 2023.
The LACC’s investigations revealed that Tweah allegedly authorized these hefty transfers without proper approval from Liberia’s National Joint Security or the National Security Council. The LACC stated that there was no documented need or request for these funds, raising questions about the legality of the transactions.
Once transferred, the funds quickly vanished with withdrawals made by D. Moses P. Cooper, then Acting Financial Controller of the FIA.
According to court documents, nearly all the transferred funds were withdrawn in just over a month, leaving a mere L$7,500 in the account.
The LACC further revealed that Cllr. Tuan, then acting as Minister of Justice, was aware of the transferred funds but failed to provide records on their usage. Despite his written instructions to release the funds upon their deposit, no further documentary evidence of their intended use has been uncovered.
Few months back, the former Solicitor General of Liberia, Cllr. Nyenati Tuan, and former Comptroller of the Financial Intelligence Unit, now the Financial Intelligence Agency were arrested and sent to prison by the Monrovia City Court.
They were imprisoned after failing to present a criminal appearance bond, as they could not afford the amount required for economic sabotage. Judge Ben Barcon denied their request for a personal recognizance bond, despite their prominence.
Cllr. Tuan, former FIU (now FIA) Comptroller D. Moses P. Cooper, former Finance Minister Samuel D. Tweah, former Director General of the Financial Intelligence Agency (FIA) Stanley Ford, and Jefferson Karmoh, former National Security Advisor to President George Weah, were issued a writ of arrest to face charges of economic sabotage, theft, and/or illegal disbursement and expenditure of public money, theft of property, criminal facilitation, and criminal conspiracy. These charges are based on a complaint from the government of Liberia, through the Ministry of Justice and the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC).
