The CDC Council of Patriots (CDC-COP) has accused the government of President Joseph N. Boakai of conducting business with a Russian vessel, Eurotrader, to smuggle into Liberia petrol products from Russia, a move the group considered a flagrant disregard for international protocols and a total disrespect for the American statement on March 8, 2022, which called on all U.S. allies to cease trading Russian gasoline.
In a release issued Monday, June 17, 2024, the CDC-COP said, “Within less than six months, Mr. Joseph N. Boakai has violated numerous laws of Liberia and now escalated to breaking international laws in his desperate bid to amass illegal wealth. The Boakai’s Unity Party regime has been conducting business with the Russian vessel Eurotrader since May 2024. This vessel, loaded in Primorsk, Russia, has sought a country to dock and offload its smuggled petrol product, having been rejected by many other countries. Alarmingly, the Boakai Administration has allowed this ship to dock in Liberian waters and purchase the smuggled petroleum at a cheaper price. This action is a blatant violation of the U.S. embargo on Russian oil issued on May 8, 2022.”
The CDC-COP claimed that it has also discovered that Amos B. Tweh, Managing Director of the Liberia Petroleum Refining Company (LPRC), is attempting to turn the LPRC into a gas station through illegal means. He is currently negotiating with a Russian subsidiary vessel, Summer 7, to import dangerous smuggled gasoline into the country with a sulfur content standard above 500ppm. This action, the group said, violates LPRC regulations stated in its letter to importers on February 26, 2024, which mandates that any gasoline above 500ppm will be rejected.
“The CDC-COP condemns these actions by the Boakai Administration as a flagrant disregard for international protocols and a total disrespect for the American statement on March 8, 2022, which called on all U.S. allies to cease trading Russian gasoline.
“We call on the U.S. government to take strong economic and political sanctions against the Boakai Administration,” the CDC-COP release observed.
Oil mongers have confirmed the birthing of the Eurotrader vessel, but noted that they do not know that the vessel has any link with Russia.
Authorities of the LPRC are still tightlipped over the matter, which has raised eyebrows for several days now.