In a significant step toward combating corruption and reclaiming misappropriated state assets, Liberia has welcomed two senior forensic experts from the UK-based firm FTI Consulting. The arrival of Andrew Durant and Wayne Anthony, both highly regarded specialists in asset tracing and financial fraud investigations, underscores the West African nation’s renewed commitment to tackling illicit financial flows.

The Asset Recovery and Property Retrieval Taskforce (AREPT), led by Cllr. Edwin Kla Martin, has been at the forefront of this initiative, working closely with government institutions to track and recover assets acquired through illicit means by past and present officials. Their latest engagements signal a comprehensive intersectoral collaboration designed to strengthen Liberia’s anti-corruption efforts.

Ministry of Finance Pledges Full Support

In a high-level meeting with the forensic team, Liberia’s Minister of Finance and Development Planning, Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan, reaffirmed the government’s commitment to support the efforts to ensure stolen public assets are recovered and repurposed for national development.

“The success of this initiative will directly benefit the Liberian people, especially those most in need,” Minister Ngafuan stated. “Liberia has struggled with financial mismanagement for years, and this collaboration with FTI Consulting will strengthen our ability to trace and recover looted assets. My ministry fully supports AREPT in this mission.”

Andrew Durant, speaking on behalf of the forensic team, expressed confidence in Liberia’s efforts. “We are pleased to be here and to work with the Liberian government in its fight against corruption. Asset recovery is a long and complex process, but with political will and inter-agency cooperation, we can achieve tangible results.”

Strengthening Collaboration Across Key Institutions

Figure 1Cllr. Martin along with Forensic Expert Meets Finance Minister

Understanding the importance of a unified approach, AREPT Chairperson Cllr. Edwin Kla Martin and FTI’s forensic team have been engaging with key government bodies.

In separate meetings, Liberia’s Justice Minister, Cllr. N. Oswald Tweh, and Inspector General of Police, Gregory O. W. Coleman, assured their commitment to supporting AREPT’s mission. Both officials acknowledged that the fight against corruption requires coordinated efforts across multiple institutions, emphasizing the role of law enforcement in asset retrieval.

Figure 3Cllr. Martin Along with FTI Consulting Expert Meets Police IG

“Intersectoral collaboration is critical in combating corruption,” said Justice Minister Tweh. “AREPT’s engagement with international forensic experts strengthens our ability to hold individuals accountable and recover stolen resources.”

Auditor General Joins the Fight

Figure 4Cllr. Martin Along with FTI Consulting Expert Meets Auditor General

The country’s top financial watchdog, Auditor General Garswa Jackson, Sr., also met with Cllr. Martin and Andrew Durant to discuss Liberia’s asset recovery strategy. Their discussions centered on enhancing forensic auditing processes and leveraging international expertise to track hidden wealth.

A New Era of Accountability in Liberia

Liberia’s asset recovery initiative, spearheaded by AREPT and backed by President Joseph Nyuma Boakai Sr., represents one of the most aggressive anti-corruption drives in the country’s recent history. The involvement of international forensic experts provides Liberia with advanced investigative techniques and a global network for tracking illicit financial activities.

While past efforts to combat corruption have faced challenges, this renewed push, backed by a robust legal framework and institutional cooperation, signals a potential turning point. With growing public demand for accountability, the coming months will be crucial in determining the effectiveness of this initiative.

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The sanctions against the individuals include a lifetime ban for them and all family members of traveling to the United States and a lifetime ban on using the U.S. (global) financial banking system.What corruption did they commit so heinous worthy of destroying their lives and that of their families?

The Liberian Finance Minister favored the Liberian company, ArcelorMittal Limited (AML), for a national contract over an American company, High Power Exploration, Inc. (HPX), and prevented HPX from using the rail in Liberia to move their product to Guinea. So because the Liberian Finance Minister favored a Liberian enterprise over a foreign enterprise, we must ruin their lives and make an example out of them for future governments to do what we say, award contracts to whom we say, and bow to the whims and wishes of the foreign power whether it is in your nation’s best interest of not.

While the message was sent, I can assure you it was not well received by Liberians in or out of Liberia. My office was contacted by angry Liberian-Americans that hold dual citizenship ready to renounce their hard-earned U.S. citizenship over the blatant corruption and greed displayed by these unwarranted sanctions. They are embarrassed to be Americans on this day.

As I have said before, in today’s world, sanctions are not an effective tool. The U.S. dollar does not have the power it once had, and the growth and dependence on other currencies and alliances (BRICS) further demean and erode the effectiveness of sanctions. It simply drives business, finance, trade, goodwill, and social capital away from the United States. There is no perfect country.

There is no country where corruption does not exist. What makes America different is that she’s the world leader and has been held up as the gold standard, the Christian nation, the beacon of hope and a better tomorrow for the rest of the world. But American corruption is no longer a single random act; rather, it is engrained into the Administrative State’s protocol as a matter of standard procedure.As President, I will favor spending American taxpayer dollars with American companies over foreign companies. I will favor investing in U.S. enterprises with all things being equal.

And I expect every President of every nation to act in THEIR countries best interest and firmly believe it is EVIL to expect another country to act against its best interest. That is doing wrong by the people. America has grown accustomed to our own leaders not acting in the best interest of our citizens that it seems insignificant to require other national leaders to do the same. The difference is they are more honest about their corruption than America is.

Ours is the worst kind. Ours is a self-righteous corruption. I will end American corruption every place I find it as President. Many of the sanctions we have currently imposed I will immediately lift from individuals and nations around the world as President. We must start doing right as a nation again. We have committed some of the greatest crimes against humanity and acts of corruption in the name of world order, control, and dominance this world has ever known.

This wielding of power and thinking is antiquated and ineffective, and the United States needs a president and leadership that understand this. We do not need arrogant, cocky politicians showing how tough they are when they are too old to tie their own shoes or fasten their own diaper. We need strong, humble, wise, and gracious leaders made of steel that govern in the fear of God in the best interest of the people and nation he’s given us authority over.

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Criminal Court “A” summoned Telleh to testify regarding a phone number that was allegedly in use between February 21 and February 25, 2023.

On Monday, December 4, 2023, the MCC Deputy Chief of Security made an appearance in the Temple of Justice, accompanied by Cllr Samuel Pearson, the City Corporation’s attorney.

Before the MCP workers interrupted, Talleh was first transported to the Montserrado County Attorney’s office and then carried down to the sheriff’s office to await his qualification to take the witness stand.

The post Nonstop Protest at Monrovia Central Prison Prevents Varlee Telleh from Testifying first appeared on OK FM.

Social media users have started sharing videos of Joshua Solomon getting pummelling by an enraged crowd during what looks to have been a violent rally. In the recordings, young Liberians allegedly belonging to the Unity Party, the new administration, are seen angrily beating the late Solomon.

At a news conference on Monday, December 4, 2023, police spokesperson Moses Carter said that police investigators have attempted, but failed, to obtain Suspect Queen Johnson to appear at the Liberia National Police Headquarters.

The injuries he received on August 11, 2023, caused Solomon, 35, a member of President George M. Weah’s departing Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC), to pass away. Before Solomon lost his life, there had been a brawl near the Vamoma House between supporters of the Unity Party and the Coalition of Democratic Change, leaving multiple party members injured.

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Monrovia, Liberia – The Liberia National Police (LNP) has described the deaths and injuries of Unity Party Partisans and supporters at its headquarters as a massacre. The recent tragic incident led to the death of three people and injuries of twenty-five others at the Unity Party Headquarters in central Monrovia.

According to police investigators, Suspect Lawrence Williams’s action was induced by monetary or psychological benefits. A police investigation revealed that the actions of defendant Williams criminally, purposely, and intentionally caused the deaths of three people and twenty-two others under critical conditions.

Meanwhile, defendant Lawrence Williams has been charged with murder, aggravated assault, and recklessly endangering another person pending a court trial.

The post LNP Describes Deaths and Injuries of Unity Partisans and Supporters as Massacare first appeared on OK FM.

Monrovia, Liberia – Nine Civil Society Organizations have called on President-Elect Joseph N. Boakai to audit Weah’s administration and prosecute corrupt public officials for abuse of public resources and assets.

The head of the Organization for Women and Children, attorney Mmonbeydo Joah, stated that the organization is advocating for an impartial and inclusive procedure that guarantees that assets and public resources that have been corrupted are recovered and put to use for the benefit of Liberians.

Atty. Joah strongly recommended that the audit process be extended to the previous Unity Party administration officials that abused public trust then.

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