In a move to ensure the retrieval and reinstatement of public assets unlawfully converted to private use, President Joseph Nyuma Boakai, Sr., has issued Executive Order No. 145, amending and renewing Executive Order No. 126 to extend the mandate of the Asset Recovery Task Force by an additional year.
The Executive Order reinforces the government’s commitment to combating corruption, ensuring accountability, and recovering assets wrongfully acquired by former and current government officials.
The Asset Recovery Task Force, originally established in March 2024, will continue to identify, trace, and recover fixed and liquid assets belonging to the Government of Liberia (GOL), whether located within or outside the country’s borders.
Key highlights of Executive Order No. 145 is that the mandate of the Asset Recovery Task Force be extended by another calendar year to complete its dictate; that the task force operates within the office of the Minister of State for Special Services; and that a five-member committee oversees its operation, led by Chairman Cllr. Edwin Kla Martin, with Vice Chairman, Dr. Ranney B. Jackson, and members John Mulbah Gbilee, Crosby Johnson, and Atty. Suzanne A. Johnson.
The Executive Order also instructed that the task force collaborates with key government institutions, including the Ministry of Justice, Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission, Office of the Ombudsman, General Services Agency, Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA), and the Financial Intelligence Agency (FIA); that the authorities of the task force investigate, prosecute, and recover assets both domestically and internationally; and that the task force hold the ability to place travel restrictions on individuals under investigation and engage Interpol and other diplomatic channels to repatriate suspects and recovered assets.
The order instructed the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning to immediately allocate funds for the full implementation of this mandate.
Speaking on the significance of this initiative, President Boakai reaffirmed his administration’s zero-tolerance policy on corruption, emphasizing that “public resources must be safeguarded and returned to serve the interests of the Liberian people”.
The Liberian Leader urged all stakeholders, law enforcement agencies, and international partners to support this effort of the Asset Recovery Task Force as it works to uphold transparency, justice, and economic integrity in the country.