MONROVIA – Suspended Central Bank of Liberia (CBL) Governor J. Aloysius Tarlue has been publicly exonerated of corruption by Acting Executive Governor Henry F. Saamoi, who confirmed that the CBL compliance audit found no evidence of criminal wrongdoing.
No Corruption, Just Regulatory Missteps
Speaking during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Plenary last week, Acting Governor Saamoi said that the audit conducted by the General Auditing Commission (GAC) was a compliance review, not a forensic or investigative probe. He stated that while 28 compliance issues were flagged, none suggested corruption or criminal intent.
“This was not an investigative audit. This is a compliance audit wherein missteps are identified, and those are the missteps that we are addressing,” Saamoi clarified. He also said that the procedural lapses identified are being corrected and reiterated that Tarlue’s financial claims on the bank have been resolved.
The legal battle
Tarlue mounted a legal challenge against his suspension, filing a petition with the Supreme Court on August 2, 2024, to contest the president’s decision. Represented by Gongloe & Associates, Inc., Tarlue argued that his removal violated the Central Bank Act and the Liberian Constitution. The legal team maintained that as a tenure-protected official, Tarlue could only be removed through impeachment and not by executive decree.
“The petitioner was suspended in violation of his statutory tenure and without due process. This sets a dangerous precedent for all tenure-protected officials,” the petition stated.
Tarlue’s legal team grounded their argument in the Central Bank Act, specifically Section 13.1 of the Amended and Restated Act Establishing the Central Bank of Liberia (1999), which outlines that the appointment of the Executive Governor, confirmed by the Liberian Senate, is for a term of five years. Tarlue stressed that his appointment followed these legal stipulations and that his suspension was a direct violation of this law.
Tarlue’s lawyers further contended that the Executive Branch’s action infringed upon the Legislature’s exclusive authority to impeach and remove the Executive Governor, a breach, they claimed threatens the balance of power within the government. The petition states: “The Petitioner references subsection 14.5 of the Amended and Restated Act Establishing the Central Bank of Liberia (1999), which states that a removed party is entitled to due process in accordance with the 1986 Constitution of the Republic of Liberia and other relevant laws of the Republic of Liberia.
“The Petitioner states that in flagrant violation and complete disregard for the law establishing the Central Bank of Liberia, he was on July 30, 2024, suspended from his position as the Executive Governor of the Central Bank of Liberia by President Joseph N. Boakai based on the Auditor General’s Report on the compliance audit done by the General Auditing Commission of the Central Bank of Liberia for the fiscal periods 2018-2023.”
The implications of this suspension extend beyond his personal case, they argued. According to the petition, it potentially allows the Executive Branch to arbitrarily remove other tenure-protected officials, including members of the Supreme Court. The petition argued: “The Petitioner contends that if the respondent is not prohibited from removing from office officials in the three branches of government with tenures protected by law or whose removal can only be by impeachment or other legal procedures and for specifically stated legal grounds, then such arbitrary action by the government may become a precedent for the removal of other protected officials, including members of the Supreme Court, through “suspensions,” thereby making the Executive Branch a superior branch of government contrary to the intent of the framers of the Constitution of Liberia and the people of this great Republic. Hence, the word suspension constitutes a slippery slope for all tenure officials in the three branches of government that needs to be made unavailable to the Executive Branch of Government by this honorable court; otherwise, Liberia will gradually slip into dictatorship by default of the court and through the tricks and chicanery of the Executive Branch, given that the word suspension as used by the Executive for the removal of tenure officials of government is, conceptually, a clever attempt to circumvent the law.”
Petition not challenged
Despite the petition being filed by Tarlue in August 2024, the Liberian government failed to trash out his petition as they continuously failed to honor assignments made for hearing.
However, the government opted for a settlement with the governor for his remainder of his tenure summing up US$374,239.24 which is the net after all taxes have been deducted. The deal was signed by the acting governor and the Minister of Justice, Cllr. Oswald Tweh, who was supposed to represent the government at the Supreme Court if they had a claim against Tarlue.
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