All the Chairman’s (NTGL) Men: Haddad Arrest, Bryant Probe Drawing Lusinee Kamara and other Big Fish
12/03/07 - Rodney D. Sieh, rsieh
Former Finance Minister Lusinee Kamara is also awaiting trial, tied to misappropriation of funds during the NTGL era.
The arrest last weekend of veteran Lebanese-Liberian businessman George Haddad appears poised to open a can of worms of massive proportion, one set to woo some big name officials - past and present into the fray of the Unity-Party-led government's latest efforts to bring the head of the erstwhile National Transitional Government of Liberia, Charles Gyude Bryant to book for millions of dollars allegedly misused, abused and misappropriated during a two-year period now regarded as one of the most corrupt in Liberia's history.
On Trial: Former NTGL Chairman Charles Gyude Bryant At issue is an iron ore deal signed during Bryant's tenure where it was reported that Bryant and some members of the National Transitional Legislative Assembly (NTLA) received money from a questionable iron ore deal involving minerals sold to a Chinese firm in Buchanan, Grand Bassa County.
Face value questions – where did $10M go?
During that period, investigators believe Haddad allegedly represented the Shandong Trading Corporation, Chinese Company, which bought 600,000 tons of iron ore from the Bryant-led NTGL for US$10 a ton when the world market price for ore was said to be over US$50.
The issue was first raised in the latter part of 2005 by Green Advocate of Attorney Samuel Brownell, Cllr. Jerome Verdier now of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and Cllr. Negbalee Warner during the NTGL administration when Cllr. Kabineh Jan'eh, now the Justice in Chamber at the Supreme Court of Liberia, was Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the republic of Liberia. At the time, the Green Advocates wanted the NTGL to account for the more than US$10 million worth of the iron ore shipped out of the Port of Buchanan, but surprisingly however, the Supreme Court of Liberia under the administration of Chief Justice Henry Reed Coopers dismissed the case against the government.
Ironically, the issue has come full circle in the Sirleaf administration, linking Haddad as a senior player of the iron ore deal. Jan'eh, who defended the NTGL and its cohorts in the sale of the iron ore as the NTGL former Justice Minister, is strategically seated at the Supreme Court where the issue may eventually surface for the second time. Whether Janeh would recluse himself from the proceedings when it gets to that bridge remains to be seen.
For now, investigators believe that Haddad not only brokered the deal but allegedly kept the bulk of the money for all those in the government on the deal. A lot of people will be embarrassed if this thing comes out, a source with knowledge of the situation confided to FrontPageAfrica Sunday.
While Haddad's arrest, undertaken as he embarked the plane last Friday to set foot in Monrovia, caught many by surprise, many within the Lebanese community hold the belief that Haddad is only a small fish in a big pond of what is brewing to be an interesting setting for the case against the former NTGL leader. In fact, many within the Lebanese community strongly believe that Haddad may be the key to the government's case against Bryant and may hold the bulk of the heart of the case to put Bryant behind bars. "You know that no Lebanese man is going to rot in no Liberian jail for Bryant or any other Liberian official," a member of the Lebanese community confided to FPA Sunday, begging anonymity for this report.
Haddad has since been released into the custody of the Lebanese Union President Tony Hage and ordered not to leave the country. Besides, family sources informed FPA Sunday that Haddad, who had told friends and families that he would never return to Monrovia after his last departure, has heart trouble and diabetes and could have had a hard time in custody.
The search for evidence – Haddad’s Business
In its attempt to continue building its case against Bryant, the government apparently had inside knowledge of Haddad's arrival and had already laid the carpet for his arrest when he arrived on Friday, November 30, 2007 the date of issuance of the search and seizure warrant to search the premises of Haddad's Monrovia office on Saturday. The writ itself was based on the oath and application of the Ministry of Justice by and thru the Office of the County Attorney for Montserrado County, Atty. Samuel K. Jacobs, esq., the court ordered its ministerial officer Fofie V. Kamara or his deputy to search and seize the relevant items.
Under scrutiny: Lebanese businessman George Haddad
Approved by Associate Magistrate M. Wondah S. Sondah, the Search Warrant further commanded the ministerial officers: You are further commanded that upon the execution of this writ you are to forthwith bring the items found to the court and [they] be kept under your custody; and for so doing, this shall constitute your legal and sufficient authority.
A letter under the signature of County Attorney Jacobs to Magistrate Wondah cited Chapter 11 Section 11.2 of the Criminal Procedure Law, based on which the Ministry of Justice by and thru the office of the County Attorney for Montserrado County prays Your Honor and the Honorable Court for the issuance of a Writ of Search and Seizure Warrant. According to the letter also dated November 30, 2007, the Writ of Search and Seizure is to be served on the premises of Mr. George E. Haddad for documents relative to the Buchanan Iron Ore Stockpile during the NIFL administration.
It was no surprise that the government sought specific clearance from the courts to seek out anything linking Haddad to the deal including Letters of Authorization, checks and Check Books, Returned Checks, Ledger and/or Receipts issued anything that could tie members of the NTGL or close Bryant's aide to the deal, now poised to rock Bryant's boat.
Investigators have been tightlipped on what was gathered from Haddad's offices Saturday but in recent months, many political observers have been finding it hard to believe that if Bryant is guilty as alleged, he could not have allegedly misappropriated all the funds without the knowledge of his economy point man in Harry Greaves, who served as Bryant's advisor on economic matters until close to the election season when he departed ship to campaign for Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, who went on to win the Presidency.
Don’t have a clue, Greaves says
For Greaves, the gamble paid off handsomely as he was rewarded the post of Managing Director of the lucrative Liberia Petroleum Refinery Corporation (LPRC). In fact, some of Bryant's aides have suggested to FPA in recent week that Greaves was one of the facilitators of the iron ore deal now being investigated. But when contacted early Monday, Greaves said the reports are totally untrue. I was never involved in the negotiations.
ORE DEAL-COUNT ME OUT
"I knew nothing about it because I was not allowed any where near the negotiations, so I did not know anything. I tried to but nobody would let me anywhere near it. They would try to throw you off the set. I was in no way involved in that transaction."
Harry Greaves, Former Economic Advisor to NTGL Chair Charles Gyude Bryant
On the contrary when I tried to find out I was told that there were specific instructions that I should not be given information. So I don’t have a clue. Perhaps the person who you should be talking to is Jonathan Mason. He was the one who negotiated the deal. If they say I was involved, how was I involved? I knew nothing about it because I was not allowed any where near the negotiations, so I did not know anything. I tried to but nobody would let me anywhere near it. They would try to throw you off the set. I was in no way involved in that transaction so I do not know anything about it,” Greaves says.
Despite Greaves explanation, critics of the governments latest corruption web suggests that It appears that Haddad now finds himself in hot water for an age old Liberian practice: sale of government assets for purportedly little or nothing followed by pecuniary gain for a few government officials and foreign business people. However, critics contend that if Haddad, Bryant and a group of National Transitional Legislative Assembly (NTLA) members are indeed tied to the deal, the UP-led government could face similar probe of some of its own members should they relinquish hold of government in the future.
An ironic twist to the saga involves Greaves, whose own Sirleaf-era Nigerian oil deal, critics say, is not un-similar to the one for which Mr. Haddad is being investigated. Thus, the government may have started a pattern: present government investigate and prosecute corruption of previous government. By the time the Unity Party gets done with the NTGL, most of its top officials, including the head of state may be in prison, followed in 2012 by members of the current government tied to corruption allegations, which could be the best way to end the culture of corruption in Africa’s oldest republic.
With Greaves attempting to take himself out of the picture, the bulk of the current iron ore probe may fall on Mayson, the former Minister of Lands and Mines, who, according to the government's spokesman, Information Minister Dr. Laurence Bropleh said Sunday has also been questioned in connection with the oil deal.
Different tune: Greaves ’04 Letter on Ore Deal – ‘Three shipments made’
As Greaves seemed to want to exonerate himself from the iron ore saga, however on October 5 2005, he wrote a letter to the Perspective in defense of the iron ore sale. In that letter Mr. Greaves wrote, that an article written by John Morlu', now auditor general of Liberia, was the first on the Buchanan iron ore story that made sense. “I share his exasperation with the Liberian media's failure to do simple research or check the facts before rushing into print. I do not have all the details of this particular transaction, but simple arithmetic would have discounted some of the wilder interpretations of what went on,” Greaves wrote.
Wesley Johnson, the former Vice Chair of the NTGL is apparently off the hook after being exonerated by the Criminal Investigation Division(CID).
Greaves asserted that the stockpile in Buchanan is 700,000 - 800,000 metric tons. It has been there a very long time. So accurate estimates are a little difficult. “It's only after all of the ore has been shipped that we will know exactly how much ore of commercial value there is on the ground.”
According to Greaves, based on lands and mines minister Mayson's disclosure, the ore was sold to the Chinese at a sale price of $10 per ton. That would give a total sales value of $7-$8 million. “As far as I know, the port of Buchanan cannot load 700,000 metric tons of ore in one go (I don't know if there are any ships in the world capable of carrying 700,000 metric tons of ore). So, the ore is being shipped in lots of about 50,000 tons. My guess is that the Chinese, given the still uncertain political and business environment in Liberia, would not contract to pay the entire purchase price before all of the ore has been shipped. As a prudent business person, I certainly wouldn't. My guess is that they have contracted to pay on a shipment-by-shipment basis.”
Greaves furthered: “Minister Mason gave his interview after one of the shipments and declared that the government had received $500,000. One shipment of 50,000 tons at $10 per ton would yield $500,000. The figure would represent the proceeds from one shipment and should not be confused with the total sales value of the ore, which the government will realize over a period of time based on the total volume of ore shipped.”
”My understanding is that three shipments have been made to date. At the current rate of shipment, the stockpile will probably require 15-16 shipments in all. But of course the papers didn't want to explain that. It was far more sensational to report a contrived "discrepancy" and explain that as NTGL officials "dividing the money.”
Haddad Not Charge, Mayson cooperating
According to the government's spokesman Dr. Laurence Bropleh, Haddad has not been charged but his interrogation last weekend is simply a continuation of a much-wider investigation. We feel at this time there is nothing to hold him on, the government spokesman said, adding that Haddad's interrogation is part of a wider probe in which several other officials are cooperating, including the former Minister of Lands and Mines Minister Jonathan Mayson. This probe concerns many other personalities. Mayson, who is said to be a first cousin of President Sirleaf, has been cooperating because he was the minister at the time the deal was closed, said Bropleh.
Jonathan Mayson was Lands, Mines and Energy Minister when the ore deal was signed.
Besides Mayson, Lucinee Kamara, former Finance Minister in the NTGL also enjoyed a close relationship with Bryant as did Willie Belleh, Willis Knuckles, Varney Sherman, Tugbeh Doe and a host of big wits. Bryant is accused of embezzling more than $1m during his tenure of office as the Chief Executive of Liberia, but the ex-Liberian leader has vehemently rejected the allegation brought against him by the government. The former NTGL leader has instead lashed out at the media, terming charges as a complete misrepresentation of the investigators reports that he could not account for US$1,397,255 spent during his two years of service as national leader
His chief lieutenants, including Finance Minister Kamara, Deputy Ministers of Finance for Administration and for Expenditure and Debt Management, Tugbeh Doe and Pyne Wolo, as well as Does Special Assistant Roberta B. Francis, Doe’s junior brother and transitional legislator, Tapple Doe and the former head of the Ministry’s Anti Fraud Division, Albert Quaye are all facing the gavel of Magistrate Milton Taylor at the Monrovia City Court on Charges of Theft of Property.
An ECOWAS audit found that the NTGL regime of Bryant and Vice Chairman Wesley Johnson was marred by recklessly sacrificing financial probity on the altar of appeasement of defunct warring factions and ex-combatants during the transitional period. Johnson has since been exonerated by the Criminal Investigation Division and not the National Bureau of Investigation which is conducting the current probe of Haddad.
Ex-AG’s tie to deal complicates case – Bryant, others could walk
Perhaps what is becoming more troubling about the latest probe is a potential crack in the government’s case against Bryant and perhaps the quest to probe to iron ore deal. FPA has learned that the former Auditor General of Liberia, Mr. Francis B.S. Johnson is also being investigated in connection with the iron ore deal. He has been interviewed for more than two times, asserted a member of the NBI.
Tugbeh Doe, NTGL's Deputy Ministers of Finance for Administration and for Expenditure and DebtManagement is currently awaiting trial.
Former Auditor General Johnson revealed that in November 2006 that he was coerced into writing a fake audit report to cover up financial malpractices in the iron ore deal. He specifically named Chairman Bryant as the man who coerced him into signing on a bogus audit report.
Former Auditor General Johnson made the revelation after he was interviewed in a UN Panel of Expert report. How does the confession by the former Auditor General that he conducted a bogus audit play in the Court proceeding is the question some analysts are plundering. Controversy is now swirling around Johnson’s authorship of a bogus audit as Auditor General.Johnson, it can be recalled was also involved in the 2005 audit of the Liberian embassy in Washington, D.C. where he sought to disprove an original finding by the inspector general, which found discrepancies at the embassy in Washington.
All efforts to contact the former Auditor General Johnson, who is now serving as Inspector General of the Foreign Service at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs proved also unsuccessful. His successor John S. Morlu was also unavailable for comment Monday.To date, questions continue to cloud Sirleaf’s decision to keep the controversial Inspector General in her government considering his past ties to Bryant’s NTGL - and admission he was coerced by Bryant into signing a bogus audit report involving the iron ore deal now under scrutiny. How this development affects the government’s quest to track the trail of the iron ore funds remains to be seen. But sources closed to the Bryant camp told FPA Monday that most of the monies at the center of the allegations against Bryant were used to pay warring factions. “At the time, three warring factions were demanding money and Bryant was not getting the aid from the international community and he had to pay up,” the source explained. Bryant, who was due in court Monday, is said to be in constant communication with Ghanaian President John Kuffour to intervene and slow down the legal assault on him and his key officials. Depending on what the government was able to gather from Haddad’s office, some rugged days may be ahead for Bryant and those within his inner circle but the Sirleaf government’s quest could also be derailed on technicality of a former Auditor General whose admission of a twist of the truth could come back to haunt the government and its effort to make Bryant and his inner circle pay for their alleged crimes.
According to FPA legal anaylyst A.T. Jalloh, the allegation could serve as a powerful evidence against Chairman Bryant, if such evidence is corroborated by the government. However Jalloh asserts that the allegation could also give rise to new charges against Chairman Bryant if the evidence shows that the alleged, corrupt iron ore deal involves facts that are independent from the present economic sabotage case against Chairman Bryant. "If necessary however, one should expect Chairman Bryant's defense to challenge the credibility of any government's witness concerning what actually happened in the iron ore deal."
