Liberia’s President Joseph Boakai has suspended Central Bank Governor Jolue Aloysius Tarlue following outcome of an audit alleging breach of financial laws and compliance failure at the Bank.
The Governor will remain suspended pending results of an investigation of the audit findings, Information Minister Jerolinmek Piah told reporters in the capital Monrovia Tuesday.
“For the purpose of the serious allegations of noncompliance and gross failure to perform its fiduciary responsibility as contained in the Audit report, the President has hereby suspended from office without pay and with immediate effect, the Governor of the Central Bank of Liberia.
“The situation at the Central Bank is considered fluid and further determination will be made depending on available information.
“The audit revealed amongst other findings that the CBL under the administration of the current Governor was not in compliant with the CBL Act, the Revenue Code, Public Financial Management Act, Public procurement and Concession Act.”
President Boakai in Feb. commissioned audit of three government agencies including the Central Bank as part of his administration’s anticorruption drive.
Liberia’s central bank faced series of scandals between 2018-2019, including the reported disappearance of printed currency valued about $100 million.
The Governor has kept his silence on the matter.
Tarlue, a risk and compliance management expert who served with key US banking and investment institutions was appointed in November 2019 to oversee reforms following the disastrous central bank crisis of 2018/19 when close to $100 million printed banknotes were reported missing.
The Central Bank under Tarlue has experienced relative stability putting inflation and currency depreciation in check while enforcing regulations to prevent commercial banks and financial institutions from crashing.
