By our Reporter
In a rare move, Liberia’s Justice Minister Cllr. Frank Musa Dean has recused himself from the probe into the sale of Oil Block 13, which a Global Witness report showed evidence of corruption.
The report also said former government officials enriched themselves and got bonuses of US$35,000 each.
Minister Dean, who was one time President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Oil Company of Liberia, said his investigation of the alleged oil corruption scandal would be a conflict of interest.
“As minister of Justice/Attorney General of the Republic of Liberia, I hereby recuse myself from the investigation commissioned by the President into the acquisition of the National Oil Company of Liberia’s Oil(NOCAL) Block 13 by Broadway Consolidated/Peppercoast (BCP) and its subsequent sale to Exxon Mobil,” Cllr. Dean said in a statement issued on Tuesday.
At the weekend, President George Weah ordered the Justice Ministry to launch an immediate investigation into the report that “Exxon’s 2013 purchase of Liberia’s Block 13 oil license likely enriched former government officials who may have illegally owned the block. The state oil agency NOCAL also made unusual, large payments to senior government officials who authorized the 2013 deal.”
But on Monday, the attention of the Center for Transparency and Accountability in Liberia (CENTAL) welcomed President Weah’s decision to investigate the matter, but expressed concern about giving the task to Justice Minister, Cllr. Musa Dean, while earlier media reports also questioned the selection of Dean to do the probe.
CENTAL said, “this constitutes conflict of interest and has the tendency to undermine the integrity and independence of the investigation.”
But the Justice Minister was forthright in agreeing to the existence of conflict of interest by asking the President to allow him to back off from the probe, which the Liberian leader said he wants to be done in two weeks.
“The decision to recuse myself is based on the fact that I served as President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NOCAL between 2004 and January 2006. I have obtained the approval of the President, His Excellency, George Manneh Weah to recuse myself from the investigation,” Justice Minister Dean said.
However while maintaining that his being a part of the probe of the Block 13 deal will be a conflict of interest, Cllr Dean has distanced himself from any corruption scandal in the awarding of oil contracts.
“In making this recusal, may I categorically state for the record that all oil blocks awarded between 2004 and January 2006 were awarded pursuant to the company’s compliance with NOCAL’s full disclosure requirements under penalty of law. Kindly note that my recusal is intended to avoid any semblance of conflict of interest and to ensure that the investigation is characterized by transparency and integrity,” Attorney General Musa Dean added in his statement.
Block 13 was originally awarded by NOCAL in 2005 to Liberian-Anglo company Broadway Consolidated/Peppercoast (BCP). In 2007, the block was ratified by the Liberian legislature through bribery.
The Information Ministry’s statement announcing the launch of the probe said “those allegations of bribery and misuse of office are deeply concerning.”
“The President said if illegality is determined, those culprits will bear the full weight of the law. He urged all to cooperate,” the Information Ministry’s press release added.
Global Witness said Exxon knew that Block 13 was originally awarded through bribery and that its purchase of the oil block could enrich former officials who might have been behind BCP.
At the same time, CENTAL has called for a comprehensive audit of the former Sirleaf government and prosecution of all corrupt officials who squandered public resources, despite receiving astronomical and sometimes undeserving salaries and benefits while serving in government.