Turnover Tweah, Patray

-Urey Strongly Warns Weah

President George M. Weah was elected as President of Liberia and for Liberians and not elected to defend criminals, lamented current Chairman of the four collaborating opposition political parties, Dr. Benoni W. Urey.

Urey who made the statement recently in Monrovia in an interview with a local radio station when asked to comment on the episode regarding the hacker currently jailed in London who was reportedly hired and paid to stall the operations of Lonestar/MTN, pointed out that although he was not speaking on behalf of the corporation rather since he was asked, as a Liberian, he could only speak to it in passing.

The current Chairman of the four parties told Dr. Weah to desist from playing game with the turning over of Tweah and Patray or ordered their arrest for the US$25million mop-up exercise since he (Tweah) is the head of the financial management team and the report flags the US$25m under the discrepancies portion.

Urey noted that “it would be foolhardy and unthinkable for anyone sober and levelheaded to shy away from what is presently obtaining on the ground portraying selective arrest; when from discrepancies highlighted in the two released reports of which the US$25m mop-up scheme is mentioned is not implemented; and we insist that it cannot be swept aside while others under similar act of discrepancies concerning the printing of the L$16 billion are now languishing in South Beach prison based on the same reports.”

For Weah to believe that the selective justice method as being perceivably applied in the L$16 billion saga to the exclusion of the US$25 million mop-up plan wherein while some Central Bank of Liberia’s (CBL’s) officials-Charles Sirleaf, Milton Weeks and others are indicted and some behind bars at the Monrovia Central Prison (MCP) for the L$16billion; troubled-Finance Minister Samuel D. Tweah, Jr., is being politically shielded on partisan line is unacceptable, pundits lashed out.

Moreover, Vice President Jewel Howard-Taylor in a Voice of America’s (VOA’s) interview last week also called for holistic action to be meted out to all reportedly signaled out in the two released reports and not doing selective approach let alone pick and choose.

At the same time, an opposition member of the Liberty Party, Abraham Darius Dillon also painted a scenario reflective of the L$16billion case and the US$25m mop-up scheme that while the law enforcement officers were investigating an aggravated assault; stumbled over a serious rape case and instead of providing serious attention to the rape case rather decide not to be bothered with the rape crime, but elect to pay exclusive attention to the L$16 billion saga and not the US$25m equally enshrined in the reports

In a related development, political analysts noted that with shock and dismay, they find it difficult and premature statement from President Weah that his government has been vindicated from theL$16 billion scandal as published in the two reports; wherein the CBL is held culpable to L$2.6 billion unaccounted for; are now wondering if the CBL is not a legitimate segment of the government, when a part is a part of a whole.

According to the analysts, is the US$25m of the taxpayers’ money should not be accounted for; and equally intoned that CBL’s Executive Governor is on record of saying that hi leadership at the bank will not always apply fully the rules nor strictly abide by the mandate of CBL rather will do away with the some of the rules to appease Weah’s development agenda, has in vivid reality come to pin him on the wall and hunt him following the publication of the USAID and PIT’s Reports.

Again, observers are pointing out that due to persistent pressure mounting on the widely criticized strategy of selective arrests, the government is seeking solace under the canopy of ordering the General Auditing Commission (GSA) to conduct a forensic audit into the US$25 million mop-up account; a move they scorned as sham and frankly unnecessary instead the only acceptable trend is to take similar action against Tweah and Patray as was done against those nailed for the L$16 billion based on h reports.

It can be recalled that considering the seriousness, fearless and uncompromising posture adopted by President George M. Weah’s leadership in connection with the just-released L$16billion chronicle, amazing things are rapidly unfolding in the process.  Already, the Liberian Government through the Ministry of Justice has tightened the grip by issuing ‘Ne Exeat Republica’ on five current and former officials of the Central Bank of Liberia (CBL) accused of printing Liberian dollars banknotes amounting to L$2.6billion in excess.

Ne Exeat Republica (Latin words meaning: “let him not go out of the republic”) is an equitable writ restraining a person from leaving the jurisdiction of the court or the state. According to the Liberia Broadcasting System (LBS), the government through the Ministry of Justice has sent the writ to all ports of entries in the country.

Earlier this month, the Liberia National Police (LNP) forwarded to the Monrovia City Court, Charles Sirleaf, CBL’s Deputy Governor for Operations and son of former president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, former Executive Governor Milton Weeks, Richard H. Walker, Joseph G. Dennis and Dorbor Hagba for reportedly acting on their own to print L$2.6billion in excess.

They are charged with multiple counts ranging from Criminal Conspiracy, Economic Sabotage, Misused of Public Money, Property or Records and criminal facilitation.

According to the indictment, Sirleaf, Weeks, Hagba, Walker, and Dennis conspired to commit the crime of economic sabotage, a felony of the first degree in flagrant violation of chapter 15, sub-chapter “F”, sections 15.80(a)(b)(c), 15.81(a)(b)(c) and 15.82(b)(c) of the new penal law of Liberia.

The indictment further noted that the defendants by virtue of their employment and positions within the CBL, intentionally colluded and conspired and defrauded, the bank particularly the Government of Liberia by printing excess Liberian dollar banknotes amounting to L$2,645,000,000.00 and US$835,367.72 to be paid for the cost of printing to Crane Currency without authority to infuse said into the Liberian market.

The CBL at the same time provided false information and reports on the actual quantity of the money printed, supplied and delivered by the company (Crane Currency).                                             TNR