Monrovia — Less than 24 hours before the arraignment and disclosure proceedings in the corruption trial of former Finance Minister Samuel D. Tweah and four other ex-officials of the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) government, the State has filed a Writ of Certiorari before the Justice-in-Chambers at the Supreme Court of Liberia.
The writ, filed on Tuesday, December 3, 2024, places an automatic stay on the proceedings scheduled for Wednesday, December 4, 2024, pending the outcome of a conference with Associate Justice Yamie Quiqui Gbeisay, Sr., set for December 10, 2024.
The move by the State has temporarily halted the trial in Criminal Court 'C,' where Judge A. Blamo Dixon was set to preside over the arraignment of Tweah, along with Cllr. Nyanti Tuan, former Acting Justice Minister and Solicitor General; Stanley S. Ford, former Director of the Financial Intelligence Agency (FIA); D. Moses P. Cooper, former FIA Comptroller; and Jefferson Karmoh, former National Security Advisor.
The five defendants are accused of embezzling LD$1,055,152,540 and US$500,000 during their tenure in the CDC-led administration. The charges, brought by the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC) through the Ministry of Justice, include economic sabotage, theft of property, money laundering, misuse of public funds, criminal conspiracy, and criminal facilitation.
The indictments, issued in September 2024, allege that the officials engaged in systematic looting of public resources, violating Liberia's Anti-Money Laundering and Economic Crimes statutes. The case gained prominence after the July 29, 2024 arrests of Tuan, Ford, Cooper, and Karmoh. Former Finance Minister Tweah, who was out of the country at the time, returned voluntarily to face the charges.
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The Writ of Certiorari was filed following heated procedural and legal disputes between the Ministry of Justice and defense counsel for the accused. The State's filing seeks to review Judge Dixon's handling of pre-trial matters, including the prosecution's bid to revoke the US$8 million bond filed by the defendants. The state prosecutors claim the bond is faulty.
The Supreme Court Clerk, Cllr. Sam Mamulu, instructed Judge Dixon to stay all proceedings related to the case until further notice. "You are ordered to stay all further proceedings and/or actions in the matter pending the outcome of the conference," the letter read.
Legal analysts suggest that the State's move to seek intervention from the Supreme Court could signal concerns about procedural missteps or evidentiary challenges. However, critics argue that the timing of the writ raises questions about whether the State is seeking to delay the trial deliberately.
The defendants, who have consistently denied the charges, were expected to appear in open court on Wednesday to plead guilty or not guilty.
