MONROVIA — Former Liberia Football Association (LFA) Secretary-General Isaac T.Z. Montgomery says he is prepared to face investigators in a widening corruption probe into the football body’s finances — if formally summoned by the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC).
The LACC launched a full-scale investigation into the LFA on May 19, following a petition submitted April 4 by the Student Unification Party at the University of Liberia. The students followed up with a letter on May 19, requesting an update on the case and any action taken.
The probe focuses on the use of government funding for LFA operations, national team support, and the construction of the association’s headquarters. The students have also called for scrutiny of FIFA and CAF grants, sponsorship and contract agreements, and gate receipts, citing a lack of transparency and accountability.
Speaking on June 3, Montgomery said the students are within their rights to demand answers but condemned a recent violent protest at the LFA headquarters.
“It is their right to demand transparency and accountability as part of the football pyramid,” he said. “But protests must be peaceful.”
Montgomery said he is ready to cooperate fully with the LACC if proper procedures are followed.
“I will surely go to their call, but before you can invite me, it has to be done properly. You have to write me,” he said. “I know the procedure, and I will come and say the same things I said before.”
He referenced a $319,000 transaction related to the LFA headquarters project, asserting that all documentation is available.
“The documents are there. It passed through the bank. I was sitting there and know more about it when it comes to the headquarters,” Montgomery said.
He added that the LFA’s finances during his tenure — from December 2018 to Dec. 6, 2022 — were subject to regular audits.
“The numbers are there. The reports are there. No one can hide the numbers. They are there in black and white,” he said.
LFA President Mustapha Raji appeared before the LACC on May 29 in connection with the investigation. In December 2023, Raji filed a defamation lawsuit against Montgomery over comments related to the headquarters project. That case remains unresolved.
The student group submitted a list of additional persons of interest to the LACC on May 30, including former LFA Vice President Wilmot Smith and Kpedee Woiwor, CEO of CESAF-Liberia, a contractor on the headquarters project.
The LACC, first established in 2008 and reestablished in 2022, is mandated to investigate corruption across Liberia’s public, private, and civil society sectors and to determine the scope of any resulting losses or damages.
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