Monrovia – The judge of Criminal Court “C” serving as Judge de facto is expected to hear the final arguments involving the Chief Executive Officer of Aminata and Sons, Siaka Turay, after which a verdict would be handed down.
Report by Bettie K. Johnson-Mbayo/ [email protected]
Suspect Turay was charged and indicted by the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC) on multiple crimes including economic sabotage, misapplication of entrusted property, criminal facilitation, criminal conspiracy and violation of Public Procurement Concession Commission (PPCC) laws.
The alleged crimes are in connection to the alleged misapplication of a US$13 million oil grant from the Government of Japan.
The Government of Japan, during the period of 2011-2012, donated a consignment of oil valued US$13 million to the Government of Liberia as part of its bilateral assistance to Liberia.
But the State said the oil products were reported to have been mismanaged by the Liberia Petroleum Refining Company (LPRC), leaving the Liberian government at a loss of over US$5 million during the tenure of Managing Director T. Nelson Williams.
Williams, former Deputy LPRC Managing Director for Operations, Aaron Wheagar, former Commerce Minister Miatta Beysolow, and Ministry of Commerce Director for Price Analysis, Steve Flahn Paye and the Managing Director of the Aminata & Sons were all indicted.
Miatta Beyslow, a confidant of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was to first to be vindicated by court on grounds that the Government failed to prove corruption charges pressed against her within the legal stipulated time frame.
Williams’ indictment was also dismissed following the court’s ruling which indicated that the LACC did not bring in substantial evidence to prove the indictment.
The Aminata trial which lasted less than two weeks may end today with a final argument.
In the course of the trial, the state produced two witnesses, including an expert witness and several subpoena witnesses to prove the crime against the defendant.
The first witness of the state was the Deputy Auditor General Winsley Nanka revealed that there were several procedures that the defendant did not follow during their audit.
He said the proper price wasn’t set for Liberians to feel the presence of the gift neither was there a report of the generated revenue from the Japanese grant.
Prosecution’s second witness, Aaron Henry Aboah, program manager for enforcement at the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC), disclosed on the witness stand that Aminata & Sons duped the government of US$5,788,134.01 as an excess income which the company unjustly accrued when they sold the Japanese Oil Grant.
The 15,000 metric tons of petroleum products valued at US$13,000,000 was donated by the government of Japan to the government of Liberia to be used to support development initiatives in the country under a grant arrangement, provision of which was conveyed in an Exchange of Notes between the donor (Japan) and the recipient (Liberia) in 2011.
In his testimony, Aboah, the LACC’s second witness, alleged that the petroleum company after selling the not-for-profit product, which included diesel and gasoline, the defendant “criminally managed to deposit an amount of US$8,504,177.50, holding back US$5,788,134.01.”
Aboah further alleged that the plot was uncovered during an audit conducted by the General Auditing Commission (GAC).
The witness claimed that Aminata & Sons also sold the product at the then market price of US$4.22 and US$4.37, without taking into consideration the gift element of the Japanese Oil of 21.19 percent of the market price.
He alleged that the company sold the products (both diesel and gasoline) for US$4.22 and US$4.37, of which the petroleum company realized a surplus amount of US$5,788,134.01, contrary to the agreed pump price.
According to Aboah, the LACC discovered the plot when they were contacted by Movement of the Downtrodden, a whistleblower.
“We received complaint from the Movement of the Downtrodden about the oil grant product transaction being awarded to Aminata & Sons which, they were warned, to reflect the pump price, so we invited the chief executive officer of Aminata & Sons, Siaka Turay,” the LACC witness claimed.
Aboah further alleged that at the investigation Turay denied any idea about the setting up of the new pump price.
“But, he failed to show the investigators any record to establish that he did not set the price.”
Aboah told the court that Aminata & Sons should have carried out a public awareness on the grant as stated in the Memorandum of Understanding, however, that did not happen.
Aminata & Sons, according to him, was requested to provide original invoices as well as other original supporting documentation to support the sale of the oil, but the company failed to provide the documents requested.
“On the issue of public awareness as indicated in the MOU,” the LACC witness quoted Turay as saying -“That money is still in my possession and I would make restitution.”
Aboah said, “We discovered that the product was wrongfully given to Aminata & Sons without the MOC and LPRC observing the Public Procurement Concession Commission (PPCC) that calls for a bidding process of which the two public entities did not exercise due diligence.
“As to the distribution of the product the record does not show as to how much was generated from each consignment that was turned over to Aminata & Sons.”
“The record only managed to show the quantity that was given to the company and did not reflect the amount that the product was sold for,” Aboah said.
Taking the witness stand, Defendant Turay said that records pertaining to the transaction were in possession of LPRC including an oral report.
He told the court that Aminata & Sons was the contracting agent and LPRC was the executing agent. According to his testimony, his entity was under obligation to honor the price set by the Ministry of Commerce and the price set by both MOCI and LPRC not him.
Turay: “Aminata sold the products at the reduced price set by LPRC and MOCI; and I was not a party to the price fixing as such, we do not know what the reduction was, the total amount of US$8.5 million being the cost of the product was accepted to us.
“The MOU and the letter from the Managing Director of LPRC clearly stated that we are to pay to the government of Liberia account at the Central Bank of Liberia as directed by the letter as mentioned in the MOU.”
“We therefore do not owe anything more, so I can say we do not owe the Government anything.”