Monrovia – The First Judicial Circuit, Criminal Court “C”, at the Temple of Justice, has issued a Writ of Arrest for suspended National Housing Authority (NHA) boss, Duannah Siryon, and others for their alleged involvement in Gelpaz-Immo bribery scandal.
Report by Augustine T. Tweh 00231775524647 / [email protected]
Gelpaz-Immo is a Burkinabe company that expressed interest in the construction of over 5,000 housing units.
According to the Writ, Duannah Siryon (NHA), Tugbeh C. Tugbeh (NHA), Isaac Roberts (NHA), Augustine Weah (Executive Director of Guss Group of Companies) and Emmanuel Tapsoda (Gelpaz-Immo Representative) are charged with the crimes of Economic Sabotage, Theft of Property, Bribery, Misapplication of Entrusted Property and Criminal Conspiracy, based on an indictment from the Grand Jury of Montserrado County.
“The Grand Jury for Montserrado County, Republic of Liberia, upon their oath do hereby find, more probably than not, that the defendants, Duannah Siryon, Tugbeh C. Tugbeh, Isaac Roberts and Augustine Weah, to be identified, committed the crime of Economic Sabotage, a felony of the First Degree,” Excerpt of the Indictment read.
In the indictment, the named defendants were arrested, investigated and charged by a special team of investigators of the Liberia National Police (LNP) for their alleged involvement into the commission of the crimes.
The indictment also reveals that the crimes were allegedly committed when the Burkinabe company, Gelpaz-Immo, based in Burkina Faso through its former coordinator Emmanuel Tapsoda contracted then Managing Director of NHA, Duannah Siryon, now suspended about its intention to build a 5,000-housing unit in the country.
“Based on the offer of Gelpaz-Immo to the National Housing Authority, co-defendant Tugbeh C. Tugbeh, suspended Deputy Managing Director for Administration and Patrick H. Delina, Engineer of the National Housing Authority travelled to Burkina Faso on July 21, A.D 2018 to establish as to whether Gelpaz-Immo has the capacity to the kind of work proposed to the National Housing Authority,” the indictment adds.
The indictment also mentioned that between the periods of August 16 up to, and September 2018, defendants Siryon, Tugbeh, Roberts and Weah, purported ambassador of Guss Group of Companies, conspired and colluded with co-defendant Emmanuel Tapsoda (Gelpaz-Immo Representative) in Liberia, to dupe Gelpaz-Immo and defraud the government of Liberia by compromising the value for money work principle.
The indictment further stated that based on the defendants’ alleged act, the actual work that should have been carried out by the management of Gelpaz-Immo went undercut by receiving the amount of US$80,000 out of the US$92,000 sent to the country on two separate occasions by Gelpaz-Immo management.
“That, of the aforesaid amount, the defendants by deception and trackery obtained and or received the amount of US$80,000 through co-defendant Augustine Weah from Gelpaz-Immo coordinator and co-defendant Emmanuel Tapsoda.” It adds: “The defendants, Duannah Siryon, Tugbeh C. Tugbeh, Isaac Roberts and Augustine Weah, have therefore purposely, knowingly and willingly, stolen, taken, carried away, exercised the unauthorized control over and converted the cash sum of US$92,000 brought into the country by a Burkina Faso-based company for the construction of 5,000 housing units, into their own personal and benefit use, thereby depriving the owners of the use of its property,” the indictment noted.