Liberian Senate Split over Having Sen. Sherman Removed from Judiciary Committee Following U.S. Economic Sanction

MONROVIA – The Liberian Senate is carefully handling matters relating to economic sanction placed on one of their colleagues, Senator Varney Sherman of Grand Cape Mount County by the United States Department of Treasury on allegations of corruption and bribery.

Cllr. Sherman stands accused by the Treasury Department of facilitating bribery within the Judiciary for judges to grant ruling in his clients’ favor and in some instance paid bribe to facilitate the removal of an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court – Justice Kabineh Ja’neh – who had ruled against him.

The United States also drew in the famous Sable Mining case unearth by Global Witness alleging that Cllr. Sherman had bribed some officials of government including lawmakers at the time to amend the Public Procurement Concession law to pave pay for Sable Mining to get the iron ore reserves at the Wologosi Mountains.

But Cllr. Sherman has rejected all these allegations against him and termed the sanctions against him as unfair.

Last month, Senator Sherman wrote his colleagues at the Senate informing them about the U.S. Sanction against him. According to him, his letter and response was intended to give his colleagues an explanation of his side of the story as chairman of the Judiciary Committee.

“I saw it as an obligation to explain to them that the accusations are meritless. Most of my clients have been corporations who are either American-based or have relationship with America and because they don’t want to the violate the OFAC, they have terminated contracts with me,” he lamented.

The sanction is already dealing a big blow on Cllr. Sherman as most of the clients of his law firm – Sherman & Sherman – are terminating their contracts with him.

He has promised to prove his innocence and has, therefore, challenged the U.S. government to produce the evidence to their allegations against him.

How are Senator Responding?

Despite calls among the Senators to have Sen. Sherman recuse himself from chairing the Judiciary Committee, the Senate leadership has affirmed its confidence in the embattled Senator. They argue that there has been no evidence provided against their colleague to warrant actions against him.

Senators including Steve Zargo of Lofa County, Conmany Wesseh of River Gee, Boycharles Sogbie of River Gee, Darius Dillon of Montserrado County and Nyonblee Karnga Lawrence of Grand Bassa County and Prince Moye of Bong County all weighed in on the discussion.

For Senator Steve Zargo of Lofa County, making Cllr. Sherman a scapegoat to the United States’ economic sanctions would could put anyone, too, at risk of sanctions without any tangible evidence.

“Today it is Sherman, tomorrow it could be any of us, if he is accused there should be proof,” Steve Zargosaid.

For Senator Darius Dillon, he warned the Senate to approach the issue with care and diplomacy by getting the Foreign Ministry involved to engage the U.S. Embassy to handle the matter.

“We cannot be seen as aiding and abetting an act allegedly committed by one of us against unarguably the world’s most powerful nation. Let’s be careful so that sentiment cannot drive our decision or action. Let’s help our colleague in the process in a way it doesn’t draw the Senate as an institution in the matter,” Darius Dillon.

Senator Conmany Wesseh of River Gee County who is currently the acting chair on Foreign Affairs had a different view on the matter. For him, the issue under discussion is personal and has nothing to do with the Senate. He said it’s Senator Sherman’s private matter.

“Do not draw the Senate into a matter that does not involve the Senate. Senator Sherman wasn’t representing the Senate for which he’s being accused of bribery. We are too old and experience to allow this to happen let sleeping Dog lies,” Senator Conmany Wesseh.

For Senator BoylCharles Sogbie, Senator Sherman should do the honorable thing by recusing himself from the Senate Committee on Judiciary as its chair because, according to him, the issue is about integrity and the sanity of the Liberian Senate.

“Let Cllr. Sherman recuse himself as chairman on Judiciary and all positions he occupies in the Senate until this matter is adjudicated to show some sanity to the Senate,” Sen. Sogbie stated.

Details of Allegation against Sherman

In a release, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said it is “targeting corrupt actors and their networks across several countries in Africa and Asia. Today’s actions are taken pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13818, which builds upon and implements the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, and targets perpetrators of corruption and serious human rights abuse. 

“On International Anti-Corruption Day, Treasury remains fully committed to imposing costs on those who facilitate corruption at the expense of the people,” said Deputy Secretary Justin G. Muzinich,” the release said. 

At the top of the list of alleged corrupt actors is Liberian Senator Harry Varney Gboto-Nambi Sherman, who the U.S. Treasury Department claims, “has routinely paid judges to decide cases in his favor, and he has allegedly facilitated payments to Liberian politicians to support impeachment of a judge who has ruled against him.” 

Senator Sherman, according to the U.S. Government, allegedly offered bribes to be set free from a bribery case he and some other top government officials in Liberia, including former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Alex J. Tyler, were connected to.

Global Witness, a British corruption watchdog, in 2015, alleged that Sable Mining Company, through Cllr. Varney Sherman, the company’s legal representative, and his colleagues conspired to circumvent the law in order for the company to get a concession to mine the Wologisi Mountain in Lofa without going through a competitive bidding process.

“Varney Sherman, now a prominent lawyer, Liberian Senator, and chair of the Liberian Senate Judiciary Committee, offered bribes to multiple judges associated with his trial for 2010 bribery scheme, and he had an undisclosed conflict of interest with judge who ultimately returned a not guilty verdict in July 2019,” the release said.

“In the 2010 scheme that led to his trial, Sherman was hired by a British Mining company in an effort to obtain one of Liberia’s last mining assets, the Wologisi iron ore concession. Sherman advised the company that, in order to obtain the contract, they first had to get Liberia’s procurement and concession law changed by bribing senior officials,” the U.S. Government further noted.