Liberia’s House of Reps begins investigation into ex-president Weah’s asset document leakage

Liberia’s House of Representatives is investigating how the asset declaration documents of the country’s former president, George Weah, were leaked to the public.

Following the November election, all senior government officials were required to declare their wealth upon taking office at the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC).

Also, in January, the president, Joseph Boakai, asked former officials to turn over government assets they had in their possession “without delay and hesitation.”

The move was to avoid illicit funds accumulation and conflicts of interest. However, the documents were not mandated to be made public. A local legislator, Frank Saah Foku, has urged the House of Representatives to investigate the leak.

Publishing Weah’s asset declaration documents without his consent is illegal, says Foku.

However, it remains clear that several corruption accusations plagued the former president’s time in office. A 2018 US relations report stated, “Corruption is a longstanding key concern for Liberians, alongside development, economic growth, and probity in the public sector.”

The culprits were unknown at the time of publication, but legislators summoned senior LACC officials to appear before them on Tuesday.

Read: Vietnamese Real Estate Tycoon Sentenced to Death for $27 Billion Bank Fraud

About The Author

Mayowa Durosinmi

author

M. Durosinmi is a West Africa Weekly investigative reporter covering Politics, Human Rights, Health, and Security in West Africa and the Sahel Region

See author's posts