Monrovia — An impeccable source at the Monrovia City Court informed members of the press on Thursday that the Liberia National Police (LNP) has made a request to Interpol for the arrest of former Finance Minister Samuel Tweah. However, The Liberian Investigator, which also reported this claim, has verified it to be untrue. A thorough search of Interpol's website, which publishes the list of everyone on red notice, could not find Mr. Tweah's name.
When contacted by The Liberian Investigator, the Director of Press and Public Affairs at the LNP, Col. Cecelia Clarke, stated that the Interpol department of the LNP has no communication regarding a request for Mr. Tweah's arrest.
In January 2022, the then Inspector General of the LNP, Col. Patrick Sudue, informed members of the Senate Budget Committee that Liberia was disconnected from the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) due to budgetary constraints faced by the LNP. He also mentioned that the headquarters of the LNP had been without internet for more than six months, severely hindering the police's ability to stay in touch with other countries.
Interpol, commonly known as the International Criminal Police Organization, facilitates worldwide police cooperation and crime control. Col. Sudue lamented that there was no allotment for internet facilities for the LNP headquarters, saying, "We are down because of the internet service, which is not good at all for the Police and Liberia. We cannot be out of communication with the rest of the world. The world now is discussing terrorism, and we need to be in contact with the rest of the world. Right now, if Liberia wants to put up a red flag for a felon, we cannot because our system is down." It remains unclear if this challenge persists at the LNP.
Mr. Tweah, along with other ex-officials, is accused of withdrawing millions from the accounts of the Financial Intelligence Agency and allegedly converting the funds for personal use. Former Director of the Financial Intelligence Agency, Stanley S. Ford, is also reportedly on the run.
Three ex-officials from the George Weah administration, including former Solicitor General Cllr. Nyenate Tuan and former Security Advisor Jefferson Karmoh, have been detained at Monrovia Central Prison since Monday. This followed the Monrovia City Court magistrate, L. Ben Barco, denying their lawyer's petition for recognizance despite no prosecution objection. D. Moses P. Cooper, former comptroller of the Financial Intelligence Agency (FIA), is also implicated and detained.
The allegations involve a sophisticated scheme to defraud the government. The conspiracy reportedly began in July 2023, with the ex-officials accused of colluding to defraud the Government of Liberia. According to the writ of arrest issued against them, in September 2023, the defendants allegedly orchestrated unauthorized and illegal transfers from the Central Bank of Liberia. The funds in question amount to L$1,055,145,040.00 (US$5,467,072.75) and US$500,000.00, which were 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, misuse of public money or property, theft, illegal disbursement, expenditure of public money, theft of property, criminal facilitation, and criminal conspiracy.
Samuel Tweah responded to the allegations on Monday, describing the arrest as politically motivated and a "political witch-hunt." He stated, "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!"
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