After Ex-Finance Min. Tweah Got Not Guilty Verdict
By Our Staff Writer
Following the guilty verdict brought against few of the former Weah government officials in the US$6.2 million corruption trial, two of the defendants found guilty by the Criminal Court C have filed a motion for retrial, terming the verdict as unlawful.
Former National Security Advisor to ex-President George Manneh Weah, Jefferson Karmoh and former Justice Minister Nyenati Tuan have filed a 29-count motion requesting the court to set the guilty verdict aside of criminal conspiracy, criminal facilitation and theft against them.
Former Deputy Justice Minister Tuan was found guilty of all charges. Former National Security Advisor Karmoh was found guilty of two of the multiple criminal charges, while former Finance Minister Tweah and Cooper found not guilty.
Tweah’s not guilty verdict last Friday sparked public jubilation and celebrations by many of his supporters from the former ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC),
The defendants included:
Samuel D. Tweah Jr., former Minister of Finance and Development Planning
Nyanti Tuan, former Acting Justice Minister and Solicitor General
Stanley S. Ford, former Director General of the Financial Intelligence Agency (FIA)
D. Moses P. Cooper, former Comptroller of the FIA
Jefferson Karmoh, former National Security Advisor to former President George Weah
HOW THE JURY RULED
For Samuel D. Tweah Jr.
Economic Sabotage — NOT GUILTY
Theft of Property — NOT GUILTY
Money Laundering — NOT GUILTY
Criminal Facilitation — NOT GUILTY
Criminal Conspiracy — NOT GUILTY
For Jefferson Karmoh
Economic Sabotage — NOT GUILTY
Theft of Property — NOT GUILTY
Money Laundering — NOT GUILTY
Criminal Conspiracy — GUILTY
Criminal Facilitation — GUILTY
For D. Moses P. Cooper
Economic Sabotage — NOT GUILTY
Theft of Property — NOT GUILTY
Money Laundering — NOT GUILTY
Criminal Facilitation — NOT GUILTY
Criminal Conspiracy — NOT GUILTY
For Nyanti Tuan
Economic Sabotage — NOT GUILTY
Theft of Property — GUILTY
Criminal Facilitation — GUILTY
Criminal Conspiracy — GUILTY
For Stanley S. Ford
Economic Sabotage — GUILTY
Criminal Facilitation — GUILTY
Money Laundering — NOT GUILTY
Motion for retrial, verdict violates Liberian law
In their motion, the two defendants they claimed the verdicts breach the law, contrary to the weight of evidence,
They said their motion is justified by the jury’s acquittal of the alleged principal actors.
According to Tuan and Karmoh, their latest motion for retrial is ‘in the interest of substantial justice’.
This major corruption trial has been a rollercoaster since it started in 2023. If it was not request for separate trial, it was witness controversy or motion for bond or resistance.
For example, on October 9,2024, Criminal Court “C Judge A. Blamo Dixon declined to hear the separate Exceptions to the Defendants’ Criminal Appearance Bonds and the separate Motions for Justifications of Sureties but government lawyers threatened to file a writ of certiorari against him after failing to hear their notice of exception. Samuel Tweah, Other Former CDC Officials’ Corruption Trial Drags On – News Public Trust