Monrovia – The Supreme Court of Liberia has denied state prosecutor’s request to reverse the lower court decision in a case involving former LPRC Manager Director, T. Nelson Williams.
Report by Bettie K. Johnson-Mbayo/ [email protected]
The request to the Supreme Court by prosecution was intended to reverse the decision of the lower court.
The appeal to the high court comes after the lower court granted the separate trial filed by the former Managing Director of the LPRC.
The separate trial was granted following Williams’ indictment along with former Minister of Commerce, Miatta Beysolow and other government officials for their alleged involvement in a Japanese oil money saga.
Judge Emery S. Paye said in a ruling on September 22 that Williams did not have the same defenses with the other defendants, saying he was entitled “As a matter of right and law” to be granted separate trial.
The Court had earlier in July this year dismissed the indictment drawn against former Minister Beysolow in the same case, but the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission or LACC insisted that it would pursue the other indictees.
They were jointly indicted along with former LPRC deputy managing director for operations, Aaron J. Wheagar and Commerce Ministry’s former Director for Division of Price Analysis and Marketing, Steve Flahn-Paye.
Prosecutors said they allegedly deprived government of US$5,764,110.84, which was a portion of US$13,083,350 from proceeds of Japanese Oil Grant to Liberia for the supply of an expected quantity of 15,000 metric tons of petroleum products for economic and social development effort.
They were indicted for economic sabotage, misapplication of entrusted property, criminal conspiracy, criminal facilitation and violation of required Public Procurement and Concession Commission or PPCC’s procedures and processes.
In the case involving Mr. Williams, Judge Paye warned on Thursday that it must be noted “That the granting of a Severance does not amount to an acquittal.”
In the motion for severance, Mr. Williams told the court that in March 2011, the Japanese Government made a donation of petroleum products consigned to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry to sell so that the proceeds would be utilized for economic and social development.
He said the Commerce Ministry requested the LPRC to serve as an implementing agent for monetization of the petroleum products in accordance with specific obligations outlined and detailed in a Memorandum of Understanding dated 30 August 2011.
He added the MOU was prepared and delivered to LPRC to be executed [among] the Ministry of Commerce, LPRC and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with conclusion that he “fulfilled all of these obligations” contained in the MOU.
According to him, the Commerce Ministry also prepared and submitted to the LPRC, a bank account number into which proceeds from the Japanese oil sale should be deposited.
Williams said the Commerce Ministry prepared a cost benefit analysis, including the price per metric ton that the donated petroleum products were to be sold for and distributed.
He said the MOU tasked LPRC to ensure that the Liberian importers took part in the monetization process had the capacity to move 500 metric tons at once in order to free the storage capacity and to hire independent surveyors to certify the quantity of the donated petroleum products discharged into LPRC storage tanks.
The MOU also called for payment of all local taxes, charges, levies, PCSI and storage fees by the Liberian importers and to submit all payment receipts to the Ministry of Commerce; and to ensure minimum threshold amount of deposit into the special government account at the Central Bank of Liberia or CBL not less than US$8,540,177.50.
He argued that the MOU mandated the payment of administrative costs by the Liberian importers in the amount not less than US$22,500. The Court said “More importantly,” Mr. Williams had said that the LACC in its final recommendation of its investigative report dated 19 August 2013 suggested that Mr. Williams be charged only for violating Section 138 of the Public Procurement and Concession Commission Act by awarding contract to AMINATA and SONS without conducting the required bidding process.
The defendants on temporary when the Court approved a criminal appearance bond of US$2M filed by their legal Representatives.
The LACC in its indictment stated that the defendants willfully conspired to steal and deprive the government and people of Liberia of the proceeds from the sale of petroleum products valued at US$13,083,350 donated by the Japanese Government for economic and social development efforts in Liberia.
“The defendants did knowingly, feloniously, purposely, criminally, maliciously, willfully, intentionally steal, pilfer, take and carry away, exercise unauthorized control over and converted the total amount of US$5,764,110.84 for their use and benefit or the use of the other under various schemes and thereby committed the felonious crimes of economic sabotage, misapplication of entrusted property, criminal conspiracy and criminal facilitation”, a portion of the indictment reads.
According to the court documents, defendant Williams and colleagues are charged for allegedly violating chapter 25, sub-chapter “F” (Economic Sabotage), section 15.80 (a), (b) and (c), section 15.81 (a, b and c) and section 15.82 (a b and c), section 15.56 (misapplication of entrusted property) and chapter 10, section 10.2 (Criminal Facilitation) and 10.4 (Criminal conspiracy) of the Penal Law of the Republic of Liberia.
According to chapter 15 sub-section F of Penal Law, a person commits the crime of Economic sabotage when such person knowingly conspires or colludes to defraud the Government of Liberia; knowingly makes an opportunity for any person to defraud the Government of Liberia by another and does or omit or does any act with the intent to enable another to defraud the Government of Liberia.
The trial is to resume Monday of the next week.