Son of Former Liberian Leader Charged in Banknote Scandal

MONROVIA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Three former senior officials of Liberia’s central bank, including a son of ex-President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, were charged with seven counts of corruption following a probe into the disappearance of about $100 million in cash that was printed abroad.

The government has been trying to determine what happened to containers of Liberian dollars that were brought into the small West African nation between 2016 and 2018 under the previous administration, and last year barred 15 officials from leaving the country pending the outcome of the investigation. The funds represent about one-fifth of the budget.

The accused include former Executive Governor Milton Weeks, Charles Sirleaf, a former deputy governor of operations, and Dorbor Hagba, who served as banking director. The three were shown in handcuffs to hundreds of people gathered outside the Magisterial City Court in the capital, Monrovia, after Judge Kennedy Peabody ordered them to be taken to prison.

Last month, a review sponsored by the U.S. Embassy said that while it had found no evidence to support allegations that the banknotes went missing, there were lapses in the accuracy and completeness of the central bank’s internal records, including discrepancies in the printing, shipment and movement of cash. The review also identified “shortcomings in Liberia’s fiscal and monetary management processes that are longstanding and continue to the present day.”

Source: Bloomberg Business News