MONROVIA — Liberia's Asset Recovery and Property Retrieval Task Force has indicted seven individuals, including a former minister of commerce, on charges of theft, economic sabotage and criminal conspiracy in connection with the alleged diversion of nearly $1.82 million appropriated to support rural women entrepreneurs, the task force announced Thursday.
The indictment, the fourth issued by the task force since its establishment, names Mawine G. Diggs, former minister of commerce and industry, as the lead defendant. Also indicted are Jedu J.N. Nuefville, financial controller of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry; Joseph Howard, former senior policy advisor at the ministry; Kevin Monga, president of the National Rural Women's Structure of Liberia; Elizabeth Sambula, president of the Liberia Marketing Association; Josephine Greaves, former secretary general of the National Rural Women's Structure; and Kermue Borbor, a cashier at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
The charges include theft of property, economic sabotage, misuse of public money, misapplication of entrusted property and criminal conspiracy.
Task Force Chairman Counselor Edwin Klah Martin said the government had appropriated $2 million during the 2023 fiscal year for vulnerable small business support programs, of which $1,819,469.03 was allotted to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The funds were deposited into accounts at the Central Bank of Liberia and were intended to assist farmers, marketers, village savings and loan groups, and small and medium-sized enterprises.
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"Investigations uncovered that the co-defendants, including Mawen Diggs and others, directed these funds from their intended purpose with criminal intent, thereby depriving the intended beneficiaries and diverting them to their personal benefit," Martin said.
Cllr. Martin said approximately 80 to 85 percent of the funds were misapplied.
The chairman pushed back sharply against social media criticism that the task force selectively targets political opponents of the current administration. "We will not go after people when we don't have any evidence," Martin said. "This is not a political forum. We are an evidence-based, driven institution that only acts based upon evidence."
He added that some individuals investigated during previous administrations had been cleared because evidence did not support charges. "The only way you can exonerate yourself is through the court of competent jurisdiction," he said. "Once you have been indicted, all you need to do is apply the legal remedy and come to the court."
Cllr. Martin acknowledged that progress has been slow since President Joseph Boakai established the task force, noting that an early legal challenge brought by targets of the investigation kept the body tied up at the Supreme Court for nine months. Subsequent indictees have also sought Supreme Court intervention to delay prosecution, he said.
"The litigation process is slow, but I want to say it is precise and exact," Martin said.
Task Force Public Relations Officer Joseph Daniels said more than 50 to 60 individuals have now been indicted across all cases, with monetary values attached to each. He said the judicial process, once completed, would move the institution toward the actual retrieval of assets.
On the international front, Cllr. Martin confirmed that the task force has filed its first petition in a British court seeking the repatriation of funds tied to a separate corruption case that are currently being held by the British government. He said service of legal process on all parties, some of whom are in Liberia and some deceased, could take three to four months, with publication required for those who cannot be served directly.
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"I can assure the public that yes, indeed, we have made our first application through our British friends in the UK who are working with us," Cllr. Martin said, adding that once the case is heard and the task force establishes its claim, the funds will be returned to Liberia.
Cllr. Martin described the task force as a first-of-its-kind institution in Liberian jurisprudence, saying its broader purpose extends beyond individual prosecutions to establishing a deterrent culture of accountability. "People are now being very careful that what you do today will haunt you in the future," he said.
The task force said additional cases involving the conversion and theft of public assets remain under active investigation, and that assets held in foreign jurisdictions would be pursued through international legal channels.
