Over the weekend, former Executive Director of the National Investment Commission (NIC), George Wisner told www.newspublictrust.com that he had not received any indictment from the Criminal Court at the Temple of Justice.
“The indictment for me was withheld from issuance yesterday because of a defect and will be modified to be reissued by the court on Monday,” Mr. Wisner said in a statement.
He also quoted some legal luminaries as saying, “there is no case to be answered” and that he thinks there is a political motive behind the CDC government’s action to pursue indictment against him.
Mr. Wisner served as Executive Director in the government of former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
Here is full text of his statement:
“The indictment for me was withheld from issuance yesterday because of a defect and will be modified to be reissued by the court on Monday,” Mr. Wisner said in a statement.
2) the initial indictment, I am told by sources close to MoJ, was for criminal facilitation, allegedly over the grant of investment incentive in 2013, that was abused by the beneficiary.
3) MoJ realized that I wasn’t in the employ of NIC in 2013 as I was at the Australian National University doing a second graduate degree.
4) the new indictment is expected to be premised on the issuance of investment incentive in 2015 when I was in the employ of the NIC.
5) Initial facts available to us, about the pending indictment, have been reviewed by some of the most respected lawyers in Liberia, who are also colleagues of us. They have all arrive at the same theory that there is no case to answer to and that motivation seems to be political at the least.
7) The major issue so far is guaranteeing the issuance of bond by a recognized Issuance company.
8) So far, those approached seem to be intimidated to intervene because of
what they see as the political nature of the case. But we are still pressing.
FACTS:
1) According to information available, MHM Eko-Liberia is an international company with 30% Liberian ownership and 70% owned by Czech Republic Partners, Martin Miloschewsky The Liberian Partners include Singbeh ,(Secretary of the Senate).
2) The company applied to the NIC for investment incentives, in keeping with the Liberian Revenue Code, and investment incentives act. By law, the NIC receives such request and does technical assessment, through it Private Sector Development Department (specifically it’s investment incentive officer). Once the request meets the technical thresholds, Executive Director forwards recommendation for approval to the Ministry of Finance, through the Chairman of the NIC. Finance Ministry then does analysis of the recommendation to ensure that it is in compliance with the Revenue Code and Development priority of the Country. The Minister of Finance then signs off on it and sends it to the Minister of Justice for attestation.
3) The Liberian partner (Singbeh) alledgedly failed to inform his overseas partners that the Company had received investment incentives from the Government of Liberia, through NIC. Accordingly, the Company later learned about the nefarious deeds of Mr. Singbeh and accused him of defrauding them of USD 2.6m and machinery worth USD 2.4m, totaling USD 5million.
4) The indictment was later modified to include the Executive Director of NIC, George Wisner, for facilitating a criminal Enterprise for recommending incentive that was later abused by Mr. Singbeh. The MoFDP and MoJ was deliberately left out.
Note: I am sending you a copy of the cover letter sent to MoFD from NIC that is the basis of MoJ going after the ED, George G. Wisner
Legal luminaries and others have assessed the the preliminary facts available and have arrived at the same theory that there is no case to be answered. GoL, through its agents, NIC, MoFD and MoJ can not be held liable for the abuse of a privilege legally granted a private entity. Rather, the GoL through be hold that entity liable for the abuse thereof.
They have also suspected political motivation for singling out the ED of NIC, leaving out the other GoL entities responsible for the award of the incentive contract.