Monrovia – The Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA) has a hell of a work to deal with in raising government revenue in the face of bypasses and well-organized criminal syndicates within the LRA, Customs and some well-placed officials of government who conspire, connive and make use of loopholes in government’s control systems to defraud the government.
Report by Lennart Dodoo – [email protected]
The most recent of a similar case which of course has taken over the media in recent time is some 38 vehicles believed to have been stolen from the United States of America, shipped to Liberia under false declarations and cleared at the Freeport of Monrovia allegedly with the aid of some customs officers.
This discovery was made through an LRA Anti-Smuggling and Intelligence Section investigation which was aided by the National Security Agency (NSA), the Office of the Solicitor General, Liberia National Police (LNP), Ministry of Transport and the U.S. Embassy in Monrovia.
The aim of the investigation was to discover the financiers, recipients (intended utilization), exporter, declarant and consignee as well as the role of LRA CBO/Freeport staff.
The LRA investigation, a copy of the report of which FrontPageAfrica has obtained, uncovered that vehicles that were stolen for export oversee were all loaded into shipping containers and accompanied by false documentation claiming the container holds a different type of cargo.
However, through the investigation, it was discovered that the organized crime groups may have a link to a port in the form of individuals in key positions who are influential in the movement of commercial cargo off a vessel and within the port environment as was the case of the seven vehicles shipped in September 2016 which are now in the custody of the American Embassy in Monrovia.
This crime ring and syndicate is believed to have been established in 2012 with the importation of three vehicles – Toyota Camry Sedan (2012 Model), Acura (Van, 2013 Model) and Toyota Highlander (SUV, 2013 Model) and Nissan Rouge (SUV, 2011 Model) which were stolen and shipped to Liberia.
The Acura with VIN# JN8AS5MV7CW355089 was taken from the owner under gunpoint in Philadelphia, USA. The LRA investigators believe the shipment might have been a dry run testing of the system and planting the seed for the more elaborate enterprise.
The inaugural importation of 14 vehicles ranging from mid-size sedan to high-end luxury cars sailed high seas for sale in Liberia further exposed how well saturated and planted seeds had been anchored to complete the work of the ring.
The duty-free privilege of returnee Horatio Bernard was allegedly used to conceal and import a stolen Toyota 4Runner SUV.
“Our investigation established that the stolen vehicle did not belong to Mr. Bernard, as evident by the transaction documents enclosed. And such clever scheme must have raised an alarm throughout CBO – Freeport. But again, Custom folks have already signed onto the criminal enterprise – facilitating their transit,” the investigative report noted.
Investigators found it interesting that the importation of the alleged stolen vehicles coincided with the opening of Oragon Rent-A-Car International in 2013.
“Our folks at Customs, according to our investigation did not exercise rightful due diligence in ensuring that proper controls were not put in place verification and ascertaining rightful ownership documents of the vehicles on these manifests.
More than that, there is absolutely no evidence to suggest that mechanisms were put in place to mitigate an influx of stolen vehicles through our major port of entry – Freeport – as a stream of stolen vehicles will continue well over three years,” the investigators noted.
In 2015, 13 stolen luxury and middle-level vehicles easily made their way through the Freeport. The movement of the vehicles through the Freeport of Monrovia, according to the investigators indicates how resilient the criminal enterprise had become with Customs at the Port and roaming freely.
The highest quantity and quality of vehicles shipment was carried out in 2016. A shipment in May that year raised eyebrows, according to the investigator. He wrote in the report:
“I recall a conversation between CBO Collector, Mrs. Cecelia Dixon-McGill and I regarding containers with vehicles belonging to Hon. Henry B. Fahnbulleh/Member/House of Representatives and needed my assistance in letting it leave the port to be offloaded at his home.
During parts of this ongoing communication, Hon. Fahnbelleh and I were together, I instructed Mrs. McGill to have the containers examined at the Designation Inspection Site (DI) since it was marked for such inspection. Additionally, I will then assign former ASIS Agent, Siafa Sheriff to form part of the inspection.”
However, according to the investigator, despite assigning ASIS Agent Sheriff to monitor the inspection, it was reported that reported that the shipment met required customs declaration – thus clearing the port without it being flagged. Mrs. Dixon-McGill allegedly fully appraised the illegal transaction in concert with those associated with clearing it from the port.
“Today, it has now been confirmed by our investigation that the vehicles belonging to Hon. Fahnbulleh, for whom Mrs. McGill needed my assistance in getting them out of the port were actually stolen vehicles from the US associated with key players in this investigation: Mrs.
Cecelia Dixon-Gibson, Kandakai Sherman, James Mulbah, Armstrong Campbell, Sheriff Lasedu, Hon. Henry B. Fahnbulleh and Dr. C. Nelson Oniyama – end recipient – Oragon Rent-A-Car International, as the vehicles eventually ended up in Oragon Rent-A-Car International.
In an earlier interview with Representative Fahnbulleh, he told FrontPageAfrica that though he attempted buying the vehicles, he later realized that it was an attempt to dupe him for which he back out of the deal.
Oragon Rent-A-Car International has also distanced itself from the allegation, noting that it has not purchased any car from the United States of America since 2013 when it broke away from AVIS Car Rental.
The company wrote in a statement: “Oragon Rent-A-Car International imported its vehicles from Europe through loan secured from Ecobank (Liberia) Limited and also purchased other vehicles locally from third parties/importers who paid all government taxes, had their vehicles registered with the Ministry of Transport and obtained valid license plates in respect thereof.
So, assuming, without admitting that some of these thirty nine vehicles locally purchased from their respective importers by Oragon Rent-A-Car International after they have been cleared by the payment of all government taxes, registered at the Ministry of Transport and issued license plates to ply the streets of the Republic of Liberia were stolen, it cannot be said that Oragon Rent-A-Car International purchased stolen vehicles or facilitated the importation from the United States of America stolen vehicles. It is a common business practice all over the world for one to import a vehicle, have it registered, use it and subsequently sells it to a third party.”
The statement added: “Oragon Rent-A-Car International submitted a listing of all of its vehicles with their particulars – i.e. type, vin No. and license plate of each of its vehicles along with their supporting import documents.
The Government of Liberia through the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA) having reviewed all Oragon Rent-A-Car International’s vehicles documents, Oragon hereby emphatically states that all vehicles imported by Oragon are free from impropriety and taxes obligations.”
The investigators recommended that all containers containing vehicles coming through Customs must be held at DI Site pending verification of status by ASIS; Amendment must receive senior management (preferably Assistant Commissioner for Ports) approval with supporting documents attached; Consignee/Broker must present Customs with actual title to vehicles; CBO/Freeport must not present a bill for payment to consignee/broker until ASIS confirms vehicle status; Assign one assessor to a shipment throughout the entire process, administrative action, to include criminal prosecution must be taken against any employee who knowingly provided information so as to undermine the revenue regime and the re-examining the licensure process with brokerage firm/brokers.