The Government of Liberia has indicted four new ex-officials of government in connection with the alleged missing 16B from the Central Bank of Liberia (CBL).The indictment which is in the possession of this paper has also joined the former
CBL governor Milton A. Weeks for his role as head of the entity when the money was reportedly missing.
The Indictment indicated that, David M. Farhat, Melissa Emeh, Elsie Dossen Badio, and Kollie Tamba are the four latest officials to join Milton Weeks, Dorbor Hagba , Richard Walker and Joseph Dennis for the crimes of Theft of Property, Economic Sabotage, Fraud on the Internal Revenue of Liberia, Misuse of Public Money ,Property or Record, Theft and / or Illegal disbursement of Public Money , Criminal Conspiracy and Criminal Facilitation.
Count four of the indictment pointed out that “Prior to the printing of LDB10, 000,000,000 banknotes by the CBL Board of Governors that included defendants David M. Farhat, Melissa A. Emeh , Elsie Dossen-Badio, Kollie Tamba, and Milton A. Weeks, the total quantity of the Liberian banknotes in circulation which the CBL governors Board’s “Resolution No . BR-06/2017 (undated) alleged had the “full” consent of the legislature and had authorized the “printing and subsequent issuance of new Liberian dollar banknotes; the replacement of all legacy Liberian dollar banknotes and the introduction of L$ coins in lower denominations” was 13.792B”.
Further to count five of the indictment which explained how the CBL “Resolution No. BR-06/2017(undated)which mandated the printing and subsequent issuance of new L$ banknotes; the replacement of all legacy L$ notes and the induction of L$ coins in lower denominations, it is demonstrably inconceivable for the CBL Board of Governors to have requested the printing of the amount of L$10,000,00,00 to replace all legacy L$ notes when they knew or reasons to know that the total amount in circulation to have been replaced was 13.792bn and their conspiracy to willfully conceal the actual amount in circulation was for the purpose of committing theft, which they did do and commit, thereby depriving the Government of Liberia of its resources.
The CBL Board explained that based on the purported resolution, the CBL Board of Governors mandated and authorized Co-defendant Weeks ,although without legislative approval in the form of a Joint Resolution to print additional banknotes for the purpose of completely taking the mutilated legacy banknotes in circulation from the Liberian market and have them replaced with the same newly printed legal tender banknotes in order to have a single and uniform Liberian dollar currency in circulation in the economy.
During Monday, June 8, hearings, prosecution begged the Court to invoke Chapter 18, subsection 18.1 of the Criminal Procedure Law, that is to Nulle Prosequi the indictment dated on March 4, 2019 with the crimes: Economic Sabotage, Criminal Conspiracy , Criminal Facilitation , Criminal Solicitation and Money Laundering in favor of Co-defendant Weeks ,former Executive Governor of the CBL and Chairman of the Board of Governors .
According to them , the Court should take Judicial notice of the case file in respect of the new indictment before governors of the CBL and other co-defendants therefore counsel prayed that the Nulle Prosequi entered in favor of Co-defendant Weeks is with the usual reservation with the state to re-file.
On the other hand, Counsel for defendant Milton Weeks interposed no objection to the new indictment therefore asked the court to take judicial notice of the fact that the newly introduced indictment is the third indictment; he added that the prosecution has solicited and obtained an issue against Weeks.
Counsel for Defense also prayed the Court to take judicial notice of the undue burden that Defendant Weeks has endured in procuring a bond each time an indictment is obtained and served on him and in connection therewith, permit the current property valuation bond and sureties to be resurrected and reinstated as and when the new indictment and the writ of arrest is served on Defendant Weeks.
He added that the Court should take judicial notice for the fact that in addition to the property valuation bond and the surety defendant Weeks has complied with and will continue to comply with all the additional conditions associated with and connected with the bond.
It can be recalled that defendant Weeks and others were indicted by the State since 2019, but the rest of the defendants indicted with him, benefited from a Nulle Prosequi filed by the State with the exception of him.