MONROVIA – Former Minister of Finance and Development Planning, Samuel D. Tweah, has condemned the Writ of Arrest issued against him and other ex-officials of the George Weah regime, calling it a “politically motivated witch-hunt.” Mr. Tweah, believed to be out of the country, took to Facebook to voice his concerns, stating that over the last six years, he has been a major political target facing numerous accusations intended to tarnish his reputation and undermine his political institution.
By Lennart Dodoo, [email protected]
Members of the government, however, argue that the arrest of the former officials is a genuine pursuit of justice on behalf of the state.
On Monday, two top ex-officials of the George Weah regime, Former Solicitor General, Cllr. Nyenate Tuan, and former Security Advisor Jefferson Karmoh, were detained at the Monrovia Central Prison. This followed the magistrate of the Monrovia City Court, L. Ben Barco, denying their lawyer’s petition for recognizance, despite no objection from the prosecution. Additionally, the comptroller of the Financial Intelligence Agency (FIA), D. Moses P. Cooper, was implicated in the case.
Others remaining to be arrested are Samuel D. Tweah and Stanley S. Ford, former Director of the FIA. According to the Writ of Arrest, an investigation conducted by the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC) established that they were allegedly involved in a sophisticated scheme to defraud the government. The allegations detail a conspiracy beginning in July 2023, where the ex-officials are accused of colluding to defraud the Government of Liberia.
According to the writ, in September 2023, under the guise of performing their official duties, the defendants allegedly orchestrated unauthorized and illegal transfers from the Central Bank of Liberia. The funds in question amount to One billion, fifty-five million, one hundred forty-five thousand, forty Liberian dollars (L$1,055,145,040.00 or US$5,467,072.75) and US$500,000.00, allegedly stolen and converted for personal use.
These funds were reportedly withdrawn shortly after the transfers without any documentation of their intended use or disbursement. The act is described as unlawful, wicked, and intentional, violating the New Penal Law of Liberia. The charges include economic sabotage under Section 15.80 (a)(b)(c), misuse of public money or property, theft, illegal disbursement, expenditure of public money, theft of property, criminal facilitation, and criminal conspiracy.
Responding to the allegations, Mr. Tweah stated, “Today a politically motivated witch-hunt has been officially launched against my person, calling for my arrest. Over the last six years, I have been a major political target and have faced falsely devilish accusations, spanning from a so-called 25 million mop-up propaganda through the 16 billion concoction to so many other fabrications intended to besmirch my reputation and derail my political institution. Today, the Unity Party: facing massive allegations of ongoing corruption, including a UP government-sanctioned CBL payment of US$8 million of Liberia reserve money to SIB bank which funded the UP campaign; shamelessly turning a blind eye to mountains of audit reports detailing the gutting of the Liberian Treasury under its 12-year rule; and experiencing very low public rating due to its six-month failures as a Government, has decided to politically witch-hunt me and former officials of the CDC. Working with my lawyers and others, I stand ready to defeat this witch-hunt and vindicate my reputation through the justice system. In the end, I will emerge stronger and my enemies will be put to shame! May we all work for a fairer and better Liberia!”
Meanwhile, Jefferson Koijee, the former Mayor of Monrovia and Secretary General of the former ruling party, also voiced his concern on Facebook. He wrote, “The peace of this country is bigger than Mr. Boakai and his shameless and spineless risky mission. Any attempt to politicize the peace and weaponize the Judiciary will be defaced and met with stiff resistance. The Liberian ‘Mohammed Morsi’ is in the making! All citizens and partisans of the CDC in particular are asked to remain calm, the National Executive Committee of the Party is in full control of the fruitless and senseless attempt of the Unity party to undermine the hard-earned credibility of the then CDC-led government. The UP will be defaced and vanquished subsequently!!! INDEED THE RETURN OF A GREAT COMEBACK OF THE PEOPLE’S REVOLUTION IS DEFINITELY SETTING….”
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