A decision regarding former Finance Minister Samuel Tweah’s US$8 million property valuation bond is expected to be reached today in Criminal Court ‘C’. The investigation resumed for the second time, with a focus on the prosecution’s cross-examination of Tweah’s surety, Patrick Coleman, who utilized two properties to secure the bond.
Coleman used his properties, one in Johnsonville Township and the other in Caldwell, New Georgia, Montserrado County, to secure the bond on behalf of Tweah and his co-defendants. The first day of the bond’s justification hearing was characterized by the heated argument between Judge Blamo Dixon and the Solicitor General, Augustine Fayiah, over the defense team questioning of the surety while on the stand.
Judge Blamo Dixon is expected to deliver a judgment on the bond following the prosecution’s examination. The potential rejection of the state lawyers’ objections may lead to presenting the evidence to the defendants and could prompt potential appeals that may impact the trial process.
“If Judge Dixon is to reject the state lawyers’ objection to the insufficiency of the bond, he will request that the evidence relied on to indict Tweah and his co-defendants be presented to them (defendants) for the first time, since they were indicted,” a legal source told the Daily Observer.
Judge Dixon had earlier granted the bond. It is unclear whether the prosecution will appeal against any decision that would not favor them, something that could delay the trial, and could be seen as an obstruction of Justice, and denial of the right to speedy and fair trial as per Liberia’s 1986 Constitution.
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Tweah, along with Cllr. Nyenati Tuan, then Acting Minister of Justice; Acting Chairman of the National Joint Security, Stanley Ford; former Financial Intelligence Agency (FIA), Director General & member Joint Security Council, and D. Moses P. Cooper, former Comptroller, FIA, in the discharge of their duties as officials of the National Joint Security of Liberia and the Financial Intelligence Agency, did conspire, collude, facilitate and commit the Crime of Economic Sabotage (Fraud on the internal revenue of Liberia; Misuse of Public Money, Property or Record and Theft and/or illegal disbursement and expenditure of public money.
The court document outlines allegations against Tweah and other officials for economic sabotage and fraudulent activities. Transactions between September 8-21, 2023, are under scrutiny, with specific amounts of money identified in the investigation.
Between September 8-21, 2023, from transfers instructions documents submitted to the LACC Investigation by the CBL, it shows that the total amounts transferred to the Operational accounts of the FIA by the CBL as per the instruction from the MFDP are L$1,055,152,540 and US$500,000.
