Monrovia – Barba Borkai, Program Manager at the Enforcement and Investigation Division of the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission, says the five indicted Central Bank of Liberia officials currently on trial were aware of the printing of excess banknotes.
The five officials are being prosecuted for ordering the printing of additional L$2,645,000 by Swedish firm Crane Currency AB.
The five persons are former CBL Governor Milton Weeks, Deputy Governor for Operations, Charles Sirleaf, Director of Finance Dorbor Hagba, Director for Operation Richard Walker and Deputy Director of Internal Audit Joseph Dennis.
They have been charged for money laundering, economic sabotage, criminal conspiracy and facilitation. They have, however, denied the claims.
Borkai, testifying in the presence of the five Defendants on Tuesday, September 17 as a prosecution witness, narrated that in May 2015, Mr. Sirleaf, while serving as acting Governor of the CBL, made a request to former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and the Legislature for the printing of the new money to replace mutilated banknotes.
The LACC staff added that the Legislature replied Mr. Sirleaf and told him to print the amount of L$5 Billion but he instead allegedly went ahead to print L$5,146,250,000, an excess amount of L$136,260,000.
Borkai further that during the investigation conducted jointly by the LACC, Police, the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), and National Security Agency, former Speaker Alex Tyler was invited.
And Tyler admitted that the House only authorized the printing of L$5 Billion.
“The Central Bank of Liberia was instructed to print the amount of L$5 Billion if the Central Bank of Liberia went ahead to do the contrary it did it on its own,” Borkai, quoting the former Speaker Tyler, said while on the witness stand.
According to Borkai, the second printing of the banknotes was L$10 Billion, which the Legislature recommended to former Governor Milton Weeks to make analysis of the volume and denomination of the money to be printed and bring back to the Legislature for review.
The LACC Program Manager told the court that former Governor Weeks did not do as he was ordered by the lawmakers.
“The Senate Chair on Banking and Currency told the investigation that former Governor Weeks acted on his own and the Senate did not authorized the printing of LD$10 Billion,” said Borkai, who also claimed that his testimony was based on the investigation report.
The case was adjourned by Judge Blamo Dixon and is expected to resume on Thursday, September 20, at 2 pm with the continuation of witness Borkai’s testimony.