Monrovia – Criminal Court ‘C’ Judge Yamie Quiqui Gbeisay has acquitted former officials of the Central Bank of Liberia of criminal charges leveled against them by the State.
Judge Gbeisay cleared the CBL former officials of criminal charges of Economic Sabotage and Criminal Conspiracy, among others on Tuesday, August 24.
In his ruling, Judge Gbeisay said the prosecution did not prove beyond a reasonable doubt the allegations that were contained in the indictment.
Judge Gbeisay added that the CBL letter (Press Release) account for the amount prosecution claimed to have been missing. The Judge also added that the number of Liberian banknotes printed and brought in the country was double counted, thus creating the impression of an alleged missing banknotes.
Judge Gbeisay said the actual number of banknotes printed and sent to Liberia was L$15, 506 billion plus. He ruled that the Presidential Investigative Team (PIT) mislead the prosecution into charging the defendants for the printing of over L$13 billion, instead of L$10 billion as contracted, thereby reaching an erroneous conclusion that L$2.645 billion was missing.
“The fact remains that there was a need to print banknotes. Also, there is no evidence that any of the monies was pocketed in any of the defendants’ pocket. The evidence in a criminal case must be inclusive,” Judge Gbeisay said.
The Judge continued: “it is a well calculated opinion of this court that from the analysis of evidence adduced at trial before this court, it is 10 Billion LRD that was printed under the 2017 contract with an excess of 374,750,000,000 making a grand total of 10,345750,000,000.00; and that there were no printing of an extra 2.645 Billion LRD and that no such 2,645 LRD Billion existed to be missing and or not accounted for, this court hereby declared.
“The defendants having being found Not Guilty of the printing of L$2.645 Billion and the court having established that the unauthorized printing by CBL is not a specific crime under the Liberian criminal law; the charges of Economic Sabotage , Fraud on the Internal Revenue Misuse of PUBLIC Money, Prop or Records, Theft /Illegal Disbursement of Public Money, Criminal Conspiracy, Criminal Facilitation Theft of Property not been proven the defendants are hereby adjudged not guilty; with the proviso that they may be reprimanded under the Code of Conduct or the Legislature for the abuses of their offices.”
“The fact remains that there was a need to print banknotes. Also, there is no evidence that any of the monies was pocketed in any of the defendants’ pockets. The evidence in a criminal case must be inclusive.”
Judge Yamie Quiqui Gbeisay, Criminal Court ‘C’
The judge ordered that the acquitted former officials be given their respective criminal appearance bonds and the travel bond lifted against them.
Form CBL Governor Milton A. Weeks ad three former board members of the Bank — Elsie Dossen Badio, Kollie Gamba, and David Farhai — were on trial for illegal printing huge quantity of Liberian banknotes with the authorization of the Legislature.
However, the court mentioned that the “prosecution indeed established a prima facie case that the 10 billion plus was printed illegally/wrongfully without an expressed legislative authorization” for which the former officials can be reprimanded for violating Legislative procedural.
But Judge Gbeisay further wrote in the court’s final opinion that criminal intent was lacking in the unauthorized decision to print the new banknotes.
“The printing of such money, though without an expressed authorization, cannot in the mind of this court be termed as a criminal act and the officials of central bank criminally charged and punished,” the Judge wrote.
“…The action of the government in receiving the money and infusing it in the economy, the government has ratified the wrongful act of the central bank Executive Governor and the Board of Governors, thereby erasing criminality, if any.”