Published: September 10, 2024
MONROVIA – Criminal Court ‘C’ has reissued an arrest warrant for several key officials from the George Weah administration, previously arrested in connection with an alleged US$6 million theft at the Financial Intelligence Agency. Those to be arrested include former Finance Minister Samuel Tweah, former National Security Advisor Jefferson Karmoh, and former Solicitor General Cllr. Nyanti Tuan, who was then acting as Minister of Justice. Additionally, Mr. Stanley Ford and D. Moses Cooper, Director General and Comptroller General respectively at the Financial Intelligence Agency, are also to be arrested.
The new writ of arrest from the court follows an indictment which now charges the ex-officials with economic sabotage, including fraud on the internal revenue of Liberia, misuse of public money, property, or records; theft of property; illegal disbursement and expenditure of public money; theft of property, money laundering, criminal facilitation, and criminal conspiracy. The indictment writ of arrest was issued on September 6.
This indictment is the result of a detailed investigation by the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC), which alleges that the accused were involved in a complex scheme to siphon off government resources through unauthorized transfers and subsequent illegal withdrawal of over L$1 billion (approx. US$5 million) and an additional US$500,000 from the Central Bank of Liberia in late 2023, under the guise of official duties.
Samuel D. Tweah, who is believed to be outside the country, and Stanley S. Ford, the former Director General of the Financial Intelligence Agency, remain at large. Meanwhile, Cllr. Tuan, Mr. Karmoh, and Cooper were detained at Monrovia Central Prison in July after their petition for release on recognizance was denied. They were, however, subsequently released on bail.
In a fiery response on social media following the initial arrest of his colleagues, Mr. Tweah condemned the arrests as a “politically motivated witch-hunt,” orchestrated to deflect from the current government’s shortcomings and ongoing corruption scandals. He vehemently denied the charges, claiming they were part of a broader attempt to damage his political credibility and that of his associates from the previous administration.
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