-As Gov’t puts travel restrictions on 15 persons
After the Liberian government placed travel restrictions on him and 14 others, the former Governor of the Central Bank of Liberia (CBL), Milton Weeks is to appear at the national police headquarters on Wednesday to assist with investigations on the disappearance of some 16 billion Liberian dollars from the Freeport of Monrovia and the Roberts International Airport.
Authorities say Wednesday’s appearance will be the former CBL Governor’s second as a person of interest in the investigations. But Mr. Weeks, who resigned his post recently, has so far made to public statement on the reported disappearance of the 16 billion Liberian dollars.
In a national security circular issued on Tuesday, “The government says it takes the ongoing investigation seriously because it has national security implications.”
According to the circular, the government says it has instructed authorities at all points of entry and exit including land, borders, and seaports to take the circular seriously.
Former CBL Governor Weeks
Others on the travel restriction list include the son of former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Charles Sirleaf, who is currently serving as Deputy CBL Governor.
Otheers on the list are Lebanese businessman George Abi Jaoudi, whose group of companies dominate several sectors of the economy, was also listed, in addition to several other Central Bank employees.
Meanwhile, former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has accused the government of trying to damage her legacy, the FrontpageAfrica newspaper reported in Monrovia on Wednesday.
In an exclusive interview with the paper, the former Liberian leader said that an investigation on the missing money had already been conducted by the Central Bank.
“I have been reliably informed that the Central Bank of Liberia has undertaken an internal investigation and in [a] directive from the minister of justice, provided a full report to the police,” FrontpageAfrica quoted former President Sirleaf as saying.
According to her, the contents of the report were included in a press release that contradicts earlier statements by Information Minister Eugene Nagbe.
“This had been held for two days because the CBL Governor and the Minister of Justice have refused to approve the release. It is most unfortunate that the GOL [Government of Liberia] would give false information that wickedly impugns the reputation of past officials and by extension, the country itself,” former President Sirleaf said.
The former Liberian President vowed that she would ask her son, Charles Sirleaf, to resign from his post as deputy governor of the Central Bank.
A press release signed by Justice Minister Cllr. Frank Musa Dean on Monday confirmed that nine billion Liberian dollars went missing with no trace of the money, which started arriving in the country since November 2017 with the latest batch to arrive in August 2018.
“Evidence available to the investigation team has established that the current administration was not informed about the arrival of the containers and bags of monies into the country,” the Justice Ministry’s press release said.
But hours after the Justice Ministry released the statement, Information Minister Eugene Nagbe told the Voice of America that the amount earlier reported was small and that the total amount in question is close to 16 billion Liberian dollars.
Minister Nagbe disclosed that evidence from the investigations show that the missing containers and bags of money were printed in Lebanon, Sweden and China.