The Judge of Criminal Court “A”, His Honor Roosevelt Z. Willie, has temporarily relieved the former Minister of Finance and Development Planning, Samuel D. Tweah, Jr., and restored his rights to move around as a free man after he filed a US$8 million bond on Wednesday, September 25, 2024.
Former Minister Tweah arrived in Liberia early Wednesday morning via Peace Airway, and on the same day made his way to the Criminal Court “A” to face the charges of economic sabotage, misuse of public money, property or record, theft and/or illegal disbursement and expenditure of public money, theft of property, criminal facilitation and criminal conspiracy, as accused by the Liberian government.
Tweah, flanked by a bevy of supporters and legal luminaries, entered the court during the morning hours, where his lawyers, led by Cllr. Arthur Johnson, filed a bond on his behalf, worth US$8 million.
It can be recalled that the Monrovia City Court on Monday, July 29, 2024 issued a writ of arrest for several ex-officials of the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) government, including the former Minister of Finance and Development Planning, Samuel Tweah, Jr., former Acting Minister of Justice, Cllr. Nyenati Tuan, former Director of the Financial Intelligence Agency (FIA), Stanley S. Ford, former Comptroller of FIA, D. Moses P. Cooper, and former National Security Advisor, Jefferson Karmoh, for the alleged commission of economic sabotage, misuse of public money, property or record, theft and/or illegal disbursement and expenditure of public money, theft of property, criminal facilitation and criminal conspiracy.
The Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC) accused the defendants thus: In an elaborate scheme and conspiracy to defraud the Government of Liberia (GOL), in September 2023, the defendants, in carrying out a diabolical scheme and conspiracy and under the false pretense of discharging their duties as officials of the Joint Security of Liberia, unauthorizedly, criminally, willfully, illegally, knowingly and maliciously, with the intent to defraud the Government of Liberia (GOL), stole and converted to their own use and benefit, did conspire, collude and made to be transferred from the Central Bank of Liberia (CBL) to the operational accounts of the Financial Intelligence Agency (FIA) the amounts of L$1,055,152,540 and US$500,000. The amounts of L$1,055,145,040.00 and US$500,000 were subsequently withdrawn either on the same day of the transfer or a few days thereafter, without any indication or record of how the amounts were disbursed or utilized by the Joint Security of Liberia, in complete and total violation of the New Panel Law of Liberia.
However, the defendants have since denied the allegations and challenged the prosecution to prove their allegation.
Meanwhile, the court has scheduled the first hearing in Tweah’s case for November 12, 2024.