Legal proceedings involving former Finance Minister Samuel Tweah and other defendants have been marked by tension over the disclosure of key evidence in the corruption case.
Prosecutors and defense attorneys in the corruption case were engaged in an unusually heated debate on Wednesday, February 19, over defense allegations that the government improperly held back evidence related to the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission's (LACC) investigation of transferring of funds from the Financial Intelligence Agency (FIA) account domiciled at the Central Bank of Liberia (CBL) for personal use.
Wednesday's arguments over the desire of Tweah's lawyers to have the prosecutors to disclose all materials, exculpatory information in the government's possession, to the defense, delayed the start of the discovery proceedings held in the Criminal Court 'C' judge's chamber for several minutes, a source confided in the Daily Observer.
The government provided some of the evidence in the form of the LACC's investigative report and the transaction with the CBL.
Keep up with the latest headlines on WhatsApp | LinkedIn
The remaining evidence will be submitted while the trial is ongoing, the source quoted Judge Willie's decision on the defense's concerns of evidence discovery.
Afterwards, Willie rescheduled the proceedings to Monday, February 24, at which time the selection of the jury will immediately commence.
However, Tweah's legal team objected to Willie's decision.
Willie replaced Judge Blamo Dixon, who was forced to recuse himself from further hearing of the case, after the prosecution accused him of being biased.
What Is "Discovery"? In legal terminology, "discovery" refers to the "The compulsory disclosure, at a [party's request], of information that relates to the litigation" of a case at hand, according to Black's Law Dictionary.
Discovery also enables the parties to know before the trial begins what evidence may be presented.
It is designed to prevent "trial by ambush," where one side doesn't learn of the other side's evidence or witnesses until the trial, when there's no time to obtain answering evidence.
Tweah and the four other defendants, including, Cllr. Nyanti Tuan, former Acting Justice Minister and Solicitor General; D. Moses P. Cooper, former Financial Intelligence Agency (FIA) Comptroller; Stanley S. Ford, former FIA Director; and Jefferson Karmoh, former National Security Advisor to President George Weah, with whom he stands accused of siphoning LD$1,055,152,540 and US$500,000 during their tenure in office.
They are accused of various crimes including Economic Sabotage, Theft of Property, Money Laundering, Criminal Facilitation, and Criminal Conspiracy.
Details of the Indictment
According to the indictment, former Finance Minister Samuel D. Tweah, while serving in his official capacity, knowingly authorized the illegal transfer of L$1,055,152,540 and US$500,000, to the operational accounts of the Financial Intelligence Agency (FIA). These funds were not requested by the National Joint Security.
The indictment claims that Tweah conspired with Cllr. Nyanti Tuan, then Acting Minister of Justice and Chairman of the National Joint Security, to facilitate the illegal transfer of these funds. The funds were later withdrawn from the FIA's accounts by D. Moses P. Cooper, the then Acting Financial Controller of the FIA.
Financial Irregularities
Court documents allege on September 22, 2023, that US$500,000 was transferred to the FIA's United States Dollar operational account at the Central Bank of Liberia (CBL) at the direction of Tweah. The same day, Cooper withdrew the full amount.
Additionally, between September 8 and 21, 2023, L$1,055,152,540 was transferred to the FIA's Liberian Dollar operational account, also on Tweah's orders. By October 17, 2023, Cooper had withdrawn all but L$7,500 of the funds.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
The indictment alleges that despite confirming that the National Joint Security received the funds, Cllr. Nyanti Tuan failed to account for how the money was distributed or expended. Instead, Tuan allegedly relied on consultations with Jefferson Karmoh, then National Security Advisor to the President.
It further claims on September 5, 2023, Co-defendant Tuan, in his capacity as Acting Minister of Justice, wrote to Stanley S. Ford, Director General of the FIA, informing him that the FIA had been designated to handle funds for the National Joint Security.
However, the investigation found no documentary evidence supporting the FIA's admittance into the National Joint Security. Contrary to claims by Karmoh that the FIA had requested admittance through the Ministry of Justice, no such request was found.
The investigation also found no evidence of any directive from the Ministry of Justice authorizing the FIA's involvement, raising further suspicions about the motives and actions of the officials involved.
