An arrest warrant has been issued for Liberia’s former finance minister, Samuel Tweh, following allegations of his involvement in a $500 million (£389 million) corruption scam.
Tweh, alongside four other senior officials from ex-President George Weah’s administration, has been indicted for allegedly embezzling government funds while in office.
Previously sanctioned by the US for corruption, Tweh dismissed the indictment as a “politically motivated witch-hunt.” The Weah administration, which concluded its six-year term in January, faced numerous corruption and financial mismanagement accusations.
President Joseph Boakai, who succeeded Weah, vowed to combat corruption upon taking office.
On Monday, the five former officials were charged with economic sabotage, illegal public fund disbursement and expenditure, and criminal conspiracy. Monrovia’s City Court subsequently issued arrest warrants.
Three of the accused—former national security adviser Jefferson Karmoh, state prosecutor Nyenati Tuan, and Moses Cooper, an accountancy head at the Finance Intelligence Agency (FIA)—were detained in Liberia’s central prison after failing to make bail. They or their legal representatives have not yet commented.
Tweh and former FIA chief Stanley Ford remain at large, with their whereabouts unknown. This isn’t Tweh’s first corruption accusation; he was sanctioned by the US last December for alleged bribery, a claim he also denied.
In response to the latest indictment, Tweh took to Facebook, decrying the charges as part of a long-standing political attack against him.
Since taking office, Boakai has declared his assets, ordered an audit of the presidential office, and strengthened the General Auditing Commission and the Anti-Corruption Commission. The audit results are pending release.
