Monrovia — Liberia’s anti-corruption drive received a significant international boost on Tuesday, January 27, as the Asset Recovery and Property Retrieval Taskforce (AREPT) held high-level talks with a senior United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) official aimed at strengthening cross-border asset recovery and anti-graft cooperation.
By Gerald C. Koinyeneh
The engagement involved Madam Kristen Schill, Supervisory Special Agent of the FBI and Transnational Anticorruption Partnership (TAP) Advisor at the U.S. Embassy in Dakar, Senegal. The meeting underscored growing international confidence in AREPT’s work and its expanding role in tracking and reclaiming stolen public assets linked to Liberia.
Welcoming Madam Schill, AREPT Chairman, Cllr. Edwin Kla Martin, outlined the Taskforce’s mandate under Executive Order No. 145, which authorizes collaboration with international partners to trace, recover, and reclaim stolen public wealth. He disclosed that AREPT has already unsealed three major indictments involving more than 60 individuals accused of corruption-related offenses and is actively pursuing at least 40 additional investigations.
Cllr. Martin described the visit as timely and strategic, noting that it reinforces AREPT’s progress and lays the groundwork for sustained international cooperation in combating corruption and economic crimes.
For her part, Madam Schill pledged full collaboration between AREPT, U.S. authorities, and other international anti-corruption institutions. She emphasized that cooperation would focus on intelligence sharing, technical assistance, and specialized training to strengthen AREPT’s investigative capacity. She also indicated that U.S. agencies would support efforts to identify and investigate Liberian public assets believed to be hidden abroad.
Chairman Martin welcomed the commitment and reaffirmed AREPT’s readiness to work closely with the FBI and other partners to translate the discussions into concrete results, stressing that asset recovery—both within and outside Liberia—remains central to the Taskforce’s mission.
The meeting, attended by AREPT’s chairman, co-chair, and two core members, highlighted the importance of cross-border collaboration in addressing complex corruption cases and marked a key milestone in Liberia’s ongoing fight to reclaim stolen public wealth.
