By Festus Poquie
State prosecutors pursuing the seizure of a charity belonging to former First Lady Clar Weah Tuesday secured a vital win, moving closer to accessing financial records that would determine whether or not her organization was funded outside of taxpayers’ money.
The Joseph Boakai administration has targeted the Clar Hope Foundation on suspicion that state resources may have been channeled into its formation and operation when her Husband George Weah served as President between 2018-2024.
Her challenge to a January court order demanding the Foundation surrender all records relating to the Cla Hope Foundation to the Assets Recovery Taskforce as requested crashed Tuesday when the trial judge repeated the mandate with threat of contempt of court should compliance falters.
Criminal Court ‘A’ Judge Roosevelt Willie upended the Foundation’s attempt to prevent prosecutors from accessing its financial and operational records.
He ruled the subpoena issued by the asset’s recovery team was consistent with its mandate to investigate and retrieve public assets allegedly misappropriated.
No institution is exempt from lawful scrutiny, and that compliance with investigative processes is a requirement under Liberian law, the judge said.
Now the Foundation is compelled by law to produce financial and contractual documents tied to its multi-purpose complex in Marshall, Margibi County, as prosecutors continue to examine whether public funds were diverted to the project.
Investigators from the Assets Recovery and Property Retrieval Task Force, opened the inquiry amid allegations of corruption, including the diversion and misuse of public funds.
They want to examine records showing funds received from individuals, government institutions and other donors for the construction and operation of the foundation’s City of Hope project.
In November 2025 the court issued a similar subpoena to the engineering firm Building Material Center to hand over invoices, contracts, payment records and related correspondence linked to the City of Hope construction.
Authorities say the documents sought from both the foundation and BMC could clarify financial flows and reveal any irregularities that might justify legal steps to recover or seize assets connected to the project.
The court orders themselves do not mandate seizure but are part of an intensified judicial review that could lead to recovery actions if evidence of misuse is found.
Founded in June 2018 by then First Lady Clar Weah, the Clar Hope Foundation is presented on its website as a non-political organization focused on health, education and empowerment for women, children, youth and the elderly.
Its City of Hope facility is described as a large-scale center offering education, vocational training and shelter to vulnerable Liberians, including orphans and street girls.
The foundation has denied using state funds for the project and has said it is willing to cooperate with the investigation. AREPT officials said they believe records held by both the foundation and BMC are necessary to determine the source of funds and whether any public resources were diverted.
The Clar Hope inquiry has renewed calls for scrutiny of other foundations associated with senior officials — including President Joseph Nyuma Boakai’s JNB Foundation, the Jewel Starfish Foundation, Nyonblee Cares, the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Presidential Center for Women and Development, and the Kartumu Yarta Boakai Foundation — amid criticisms that many such groups do not publish detailed accounts of their funding and expenditures.
Critics say that opacity raises the risk that public resources or influence could be channeled into ostensibly private entities. For now, only the Weah’s under probe.
