The Supreme Court of Liberia has temporarily halted the trial of several high-ranking officials from the previous George Weah administration to consider a petition seeking interpretation of the constitutional and national security implications of their actions, which have landed them in legal trouble.
The case may resume after a September 4 conference with the parties and the Supreme Court’s subsequent determination of the matter, according to Associate Justice Yussif Kaba.
The five officials have been indicted for their alleged role in the misappropriation of national security funds. The indictment, issued late by the Liberian government through the Ministry of Justice and the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC), implicates a number of prominent figures, including former Solicitor General Cllr. Nyenati Tuan, former Comptroller of the Financial Intelligence Unit (now the Financial Intelligence Agency) D. Moses P. Cooper, former Finance Minister Samuel D. Tweah, former Director General of the Financial Intelligence Agency (FIA) Stanley Ford, and Jefferson Kanmoh, the former National Security Advisor to President Weah.
According to the court documents, the defendants are accused of an “elaborate scheme to defraud the Government of Liberia” by conspiring to transfer large sums of money from the Central Bank of Liberia to the operational accounts of the FIA under false pretenses.
It is alleged that the defendants transferred 1.055 billion Liberian dollars and $500,000 USD from the Central Bank to the FIA’s accounts, which were then allegedly withdrawn on the same day without any record of how the funds were used for their intended purpose of national security operations.
“This is a blatant abuse of public trust and a serious breach of the law,” said the head of the LACC. “The people of Liberia deserve to know that their tax dollars are being used responsibly and for the betterment of the country, not for personal gain.”
