Monrovia – House Speaker Alex Tyler, indicted on several multiple criminal charges including bribery by the Presidential Taskforce set up to probe the Global Witness Report that linked former and current government to bribery to change the PPCC Act, has been denied a motion for separate trial.

Report by Kennedy L. Yangian – kennedylyangian@frontpageafricaonline.com

House Speaker Tyler was on May 24, 2016 indicted alongside, Grand Cape Mount Senator Varney Sherman, Richard Tolbert, Ernest C.B. Jones, Christopher Onanuga and British national Andrew Grove by the Grand Jury of Montserrado County sitting in its May 2016 Term of Court on charges of economic sabotage, bribery, criminal conspiracy facilitation & solicitation.

The six defendants have been indicted by the grand jury after the British NGO Global Witness alleged in its May 2016 Report that the Sable Mining, a British company, offered them bribes while serving in various capacities in government in the amount of US$950,000 to change the Public Procurement and Concession Commission Act to grant a concession agreement to the company to mine the Wologizi mountain in Lofa County.

The Global Witness alleged further that Senator Sherman, who is also a lawyer, is reported to have told the company that the only way it could be possible for the Sable Mining to be awarded the concession agreement for Wologizi is to bribe the government officials to change the PPCC Act and declare the area a non-bidding area.

However Speaker Tyler, the man in the center of allegedly being behind the changing of the PPCC Act on July 4, 2016 through his legal counsel headed by Cllr. Johnny Momo, filed a motion to the Criminal Court “C” at the Temple of Justice asking the court for a separate trial for his client, indicating that defendant Tyler’s defenses are in conflict with and antagonistic to the rest of the other defendants

Cllr. Momo indicated to the court that the act and conduct constituting his indictment fall within his duties and responsibilities in keeping with Article 29, and 35 of the 1986 Constitution of the Republic of Liberia. As well as a letter dated August 5, 2010 forwarded to the Speaker by President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf to amend the PPCC Act.

Articles 29 and 35 of the 1986 Constitution vest Legislative power in the House of Representatives and Senate to pass all legislations, while Article 35 of the Constitution provides that in order for legislation to be passed by the both Houses to become law, it must be approved by the president.

According to Momo the movant (Tyler) says that consistent with these constitutional provisions, the President, by a letter dated August 5, 2010, forwarded to the movant (Speaker Tyler) the amended and restated Public Procurement and Concession Act (2005) which was submitted to the House of Representatives and same passed and concurred by the Senate and approved by the president and passed into hand bill.

In resistance to the motion, state lawyer Cllr. Daku Mulbah told the court that it is not in dispute that the President submitted a draft PPCC Act neither was it in dispute that the Act was enacted by the legislature and signed by the president and printed into hand bill.

The state’s lawyer indicated that its contention of the indictment is that the movant and others, irrespective of their positions or capacities with full knowledge of their conducts, acted together to commit bribery and other felonious crimes during the passage of the PPCC’s Act in 2010.

Following the pros and cons of the argument for separate trial, Judge Emery Paye indicated that the movant cited Section 16.7 of the Civil Procedure Law which is applicable to a criminal proceeding which grants rights to the court to grant severance trial as to a particular party in the proceeding but the defendant must made known how his defenses are in conflict and antagonistic to the other defendants.

According to Judge Paye, movant has not shown to the satisfaction of the court those defenses that are conflicting and antagonistic to the rest of the defendants indicted to warrant separate trial as the movant only narrated the duties and functions of both Houses.

Judge Paye said these narrations may be raised as better defenses during trial but are not grounds for the granting of separate trial.

“Wherefore and in view of the foregoing, movant’s motion for severance must be and same is hereby denied and the resistance sustained, having denied movant’s motion for severance trial, the court says movant will be tried along with the rest of the co-defendants and is hereby so ordered” said Judge Paye but his ruling was excepted to by movant’s lawyer, Cllr. Momo.

Monrovia – With reports of shifting responsibility, the Special Presidential Task Force probing the Global Witness report of corruption has, for the second time, drawn an indictment against those allegedly involved in the Sable Mining bribery saga.

Those named are the former National Investment Commission Chairman, Richard V. Tolbert, who is the only Liberian mentioned in the new indictment, Andrew Grooves and Claude Van of Sable.

“Last night the grand jury indictments were sealed and today we are unsealing those indictments because we are ready to make arrest of the following individuals for economic crimes and others crimes as per the indictment,” said Task Force Chairperson, Cllr. J. Fonati Koffa.

“Mr. Richard Tolbert citizen of Liberia, former head of the National Investment Commission, Mr. Andrew Grooves a British citizen, Director and Manager of Sable Mining in the UK, Mr. Claude Van, a South African who was the former Country Director of Sable Mining in Liberia.”

Cllr. Koffa said that the Task Force is working with Interpol in getting the two foreign nationals to face justice.

“We are now moving to the process of working with Interpol for the two individuals that are outside the jurisdiction of Liberia. As the process progresses, we will inform you. Mr. Phil Edmond is unindicted,” Cllr. Koffa said.

This second indictment from the Task Force has spared the son of Liberia’s President, Fomba Sirleaf, a confidant of the President Sirleaf, Senator Morris Saytumah, the suspended head of Liberia Petroleum Refinery Company (LPRC) Sumo Kupee etc.

Cllr. Koffa said the Task Force might indict everybody mentioned in the Global Witness Report.

The Head of the Task Force said that President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf opened the country for business and not for sale.  

“Early into her administration, the President (Ellen Johnson Sirleaf) of Liberia announced that Liberia was opened for business. “

“What she did not announce was that Liberia was out for sale. What we are uncovering is the largest conspiracy to steal the mineral resources of this country in our life time,” Cllr Koffa added.

The head of the Task Force went further to confirm reports filtering in the media that the Ministry of Justice has returned the prosecution of the Global Witness indictees to the Special Task Force.

The Task Force said the power it has to prosecute the indictees has been given by the Ministry of Justice, which appears to be a sharp contradiction to the Committee early mandate that it has the power to investigate and prosecute.

“This is a Task Force is not a committee. We are not going to investigate and submit report to the President. If we have sufficient evidence to draw an indictment, we will proceed to court,” Cllr. Fonati Koffa said.  

In the midst of the contention by the public that the Task Force has no legal ground to proceed with the prosecution of the Sable Mining case after indicting Speaker Alex Tyler, Senator Sherman and others, it has argued that it is a multi-agencies Task Force, which the Ministry of Justice and the Liberia Anti- Corruption are a part of and both agencies have the power to prosecute.

What lingers on the minds of many is why the Task Force needs a letter from the Ministry of Justice to prosecute when the MOJ is represented by the County Attorney of Montserrado, Cllr. Daku Mulbah.

According to the letter from the Ministry of Justice, it states that the Minister has just taken over and needed time to acquaint himself with happenings of the Ministry which could delay the sable mining case but others are arguing that the Ministry has a team of prosecutors and the new Minister could not be the reason why the Ministry would turnover its statutory responsibility to prosecute to a Task Force.

But many believe that the Justice Minister’s decision to turn the case over to the Task Force is because of his association with one of the indictees, Senator Varney Sherman.

The two are long time legal colleagues and Cllr. Sherman, as a matter of professionalism, recused himself from presiding over the confirmation hearing of Cllr. Cherue.

Monrovia – One of the primary suspects at the center of the Global Witness bribery report, Cllr. Varney Sherman has reportedly officially informed the Task Force setup to probe the scandal that he will not be submitting himself to probe, FrontPageAfrica has learned.

Liberia’s ruling Unity Party Chair informs Task Force that he will not submit to Global Witness bribery probe; Tolbert shows up, says ‘gift To Invincible XI football team did not influence him, terms scandal election-year politics, source says

Multiple sources confirmed to FrontPageAfrica Thursday that Cllr. Sherman informed the committee that he will never cooperate with the investigation because he has been accused by Global Witness of engaging in bribery of Liberian Government officials.

The lawyer reportedly reiterated what he has told journalists and radio talk shows in the past few days since the scandal unravelled, that nothing under the laws of Liberia compels him to attend an investigation by the Task Force and has no intentions of cooperating with the investigation.

Cllr. Sherman’s snub comes despite the appearance of several officials – current and former who have made appearances before the Task Force.

Among the accused who have appeared so far are Mr. Fombah Sirleaf, head of the National Security Agency(NSA) and son of President Sirleaf; Mr. Willie Belleh, Chairman of Public Procurement and Concessions Commission; Ernest C. B Jones, former Deputy Minister at the Ministry of Lands, Mines and Energy; former Senate Pro Temp Cletus Wotorson; Sumo Kupee, former Senatorfrom Lofa County and current Managing Director of the Liberia Petroleum Refining Company.

US$20K ‘No Influence’, Tolbert Reportedly Says

On Thursday, Dr. Richard Tolbert, the former head of the National Investment Commission (NIC) appeared before the Task Force along with Mr. Chris Onunuga.

Dr. Tolbert is marked for two payments in the report, one a US$50,000 as “Consultant Fee” and US$10,000 as US$20,000 as a donation to Invincible XI.

Tolbert reportedly told the Task Force that the “Gift” to IE had no influence on him and was of no benefit to him although Sable did not give corporate social responsibility to any other team. Mr. Tolbert is the President of the IE football club.

According to the report, Mr. Belleh, allegedly received US$10,000 as “consulting fees” while Jones and Chris Onanuga are listed for receiving US$4,500 in accommodation fees.

Senator Kupee and former Pro Temp Wotorson are both named for allegedly receiving $5,000 each in “consulting fees”.

The report also alleges that President Sirleaf’s son, Fombah, benefited with “a US$7,598 hunting trip to South Africa paid for by Sable.”

FrontPageAfrica also gathered that Mr. Morris Saytumah, a former Minister of State for Finance, Economic and Legal Affairs, now a Senator reportedly sent a letter that he was occupied with a confirmation hearing for Harriet Badio, President Sirleaf’s nominee as Deputy Minister of Justice. Senator Saytumah allegedly received $50,000 for “consulting fees”, according to the Global Witness report.

Mr. Charles Clarke, who was chairman of the ruling Unity Party when the US$200,000 changed hands, is currently in the United States of America but reportedly asked to be interviewed by phone. The Task Force is considering Skype option for the interview, a source told FrontPageAfrica Wednesday.

FIBank Summoned to Produced Bank Accounts

Cllr. Sherman’s snub of the Task Force and the appearance of Mr. Tolbert came on the same day FrontPageAfrica obtained from a source at the First International Bank, a copy of a Subpoena from the Judicial Circuit Court A for Montserrado County to the management of the FIB to appear before the court on Monday, May 23rd, 2016 at 12PM to produce bank statements for the period January 1, 2010 to September 30, 2010 for the United States Dollars Accounts in the names of several of those named in the GW report including: Sherman & Sherman; Sable Mining; Western Clusters; Delta Mining Consolidation(Pty)Ltd; West Africa Exploration; Varney Sherman; Morris Saytumah, Sumo Kupee, Cletus Wotorson, Alex Tyler, Henry Fahnbulleh, Richard Tolbert and Willie Belleh.

The London-based Watchdog Group has expressed its desire to assist with the investigation although it is unclear how much additional information it has provided the committee looking into the scandal.

In its report released last week, GW uncovered more than US$950,000 in bribes and other suspicious payments by UK mining firm Sable Mining and its Liberian lawyer, Sherman.

The report, The Deceivers (1), shows how in 2010 Sable hired Varney Sherman, Liberia’s best-connected lawyer and current Chairman of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s Unity Party, in an effort to secure one of Liberia’s last large mining assets, the Wologizi iron ore concession in northern Liberia.

Sherman told Sable that in order to obtain the contract the company must first get Liberia’s concessions law changed by bribing senior officials, according to a source familiar with the discussions. The account is backed up by leaked emails and company documents seen by Global Witness. (2)

According to the documents, Sherman then began distributing Sable’s money to some of Liberia’s most important government officials.

“Sable and Sherman paid bribes in order to change Liberia’s law and get their hands on one of its most prized assets, the Wologizi concession,” said Jonathan Gant, Senior Campaigner with Global Witness. “The government must act fast and investigate Sable, Sherman, and the officials they paid.”

Although Cllr. Sherman and Alex Tyler, Speaker of the House of Representatives have refused to Cooperate with the Task Force, it remains unclear whether they intend to challenge court’s access to their finances which could offer some clues toward confirming much of what has been unearthed by Global Witness, particularly the US$500, 000 payment by Sable to officials and unidentified people referred to as “Big boy 01” and “Big boy 02.”

Rodney D. Sieh, rodney.sieh@frontpageafricaonline.com