By Grace Bryant Mollay
A report by the Financial Intelligence Agency (FIA) has uncovered a sweeping LR$ 9 million insurance kickback scheme at the Monrovia Consolidated School System (MCSS), implicating top officials in a web of corruption, financial fraud, and abuse of public trust.
The FIA has officially requested the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC) to launch a full-scale investigation into MCSS Superintendent James A.S. Momoh, MCSS employee Sonita Dangan, and Kabineh Keita of Sky Insurance.
The agency cites egregious violations of public trust and calls for urgent legal action.
The FIA report reveals that inflated insurance contracts were allegedly used to siphon millions of Liberian dollars from public coffers. At the center of the scandal are Dangan and Keita, accused of orchestrating the funneling of funds under false pretenses. Superintendent Momoh is suspected to be a direct beneficiary of the illicit proceeds.
The FIA analysis of financial records reveals that Dangan’s account at Sapelle International Bank (SIB)which was dormant from July 2022 was suddenly reactivated on September 19, 2024, with a LR$4,500 deposit. Days later, she received two large cheque deposits from Keita totaling LR$8.1 million, with no corresponding business dealings between them.
The money was withdrawn in cash within weeks, suggesting the account was being used as a conduit for laundering public funds.
Cheque deposits to Dangan from August 25 to December 16, 2024 amounted to LR$8,492,034.00
Cash deposits to Dangan from August 28, 2017 to December 16, 2024 totaled 339,488 pesos and 29 centavos.
Interest Income received by Dangan from July 2017 to March 2025 was fifteen 15,511 pesos and 71 centavos.
Salary Credits to Dangan from July 2016 to July 2022 amounted to 1,125,125 pesos and 65 centavos.
Cheque withdrawals by Dangan from October 2024 to March 2025 amounted to 8,190,275 pesos
Cash Withdrawals by Dangan from June 2016 to July 2022 totaled 1,595,155 pesos and fourteen 14 centavos.
Bank Charges incurred by Dangan from September 2016 to March 2025 were 5,723 pesos and, 99 centavos.
The total withdrawals was in the tone of 9, 791,154 pesos and 14 centavos.
While the total deposited was 9,972, 189 pesos and 65 centavos and the net difference of 181,035 pesos and 51 centavos surplus.
The FIA uncovered evidence of scholarship funds intended for MCSS teachers to study in India being monetized by the MCSS administration.
The Government of Liberia reportedly covered travel expenses, yet each scholarship recipient was still charged US$920, raising suspicions of extortion and profiteering.
According to the report, Superintendent Momoh is identified as the central figure suspected of misappropriating the scholarship funds for personal gain.
“The suspicions are grave and must be investigated by the LACC without delay. We believe Sonita Dangan’s account was used to facilitate fraud and that Superintendent Momoh is a direct beneficiary,” the report noted.
The FIA report, while compiled for intelligence purposes, strongly recommends that the LACC treat its findings as grounds for immediate action. The agency warns that the financial manipulations, if left unchecked, will continue to undermine Liberia’s educational and financial systems.
The FIA has also verified that Sonita Dangan, believed to reside in the Watch Tower community in Paynesville, opened her SIB account in 2016 to receive her salary. After regular activity between 2016 and mid-2022, the account went dormant—only to be suspiciously reactivated for what investigators believe was a covert operation to funnel illicit funds.
The report concludes with a strong recommendation that all named individuals and associated institutions be subjected to criminal investigations in accordance with Liberian law.
