Monrovia, Liberia – Arguments in the famous corruption case involving former Finance Minister Samuel D. Tweah and four former Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) government officials are set for July 1, 2025, by the Supreme Court of Liberia.
After the defendants filed a writ of prohibition against a decision made by Judge Roosevelt Z. Willie, who had rejected a petition to dismiss the indictment, the case, which had started during the February Term of Criminal Court “C” was put on hold. All proceedings were halted when the Supreme Court eventually accepted the petition.
The parties were informed that the “Honorable Supreme Court of the Republic of Liberia will hear argument in said cause of action on the 1st day of July A.D. 2025, at the hour of 11:00 a.m.” via a formal citation issued by the Court.
The charge could not be dismissed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, according to a February ruling by Judge Willie, who was assigned to preside over the case. He insisted that the prosecution should be given a chance to present its case.
More than L$1 billion and US$500,000 were transferred from the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP) to the Financial Intelligence Agency (FIA) without the required authorization or national security justification, according to the case, which focuses on claims of economic sabotage.
Citing Article 61 of the 1986 Constitution and the National Security Reform and Intelligence Act (NSRI Act), the defendants said in their petition to dismiss that they were exempt from prosecution because they were working under presidential authority.
According to Judge Willie, the NSRI Act has restrictions even if it grants security actors some immunity. NSRI members are not free from legally required accounting inside the Government of Liberia, he said, citing Section 7(c). He also referenced the NSRI Act’s Section 11(d), which stipulates that money can only be spent outside of the regular spending rules if it is needed for essential national security objectives, unless the law forbids it.
Additionally, Judge Willie cited Section 67.8 of the Financial Intelligence Agency Act of 2022, which grants immunity only for actions taken in good faith and excludes corruption, willful misconduct, and egregious negligence. He stressed that no official is exempt from prosecution for acts that are outside the legal parameters of their mission by describing the FIA Act as a subset of the larger NSRI Act using a legal analogy.
Judge Willie once more rendered a negative decision on the second crucial question, which was whether the accused may claim presidential privilege under Article 61. According to Article 61, the Liberian president is immune from lawsuits while in office. It does not, however, grant agents or appointees the same immunity.
Approximately L$1,055,152,540 and US$500,000 were moved from the Central Bank of Liberia to FIA accounts between September 8 and September 21, 2023, allegedly under Co-Defendant Tweah’s direction, according to the indictment filed by the Montserrado County Grand Jury on September 5, 2024.
According to the indictment, there is no proof that the transfers were justified by a formal request or authorization from the President, the National Joint Security Council, or the NSC. Additionally, it charges Cllr. Nyenati Tuan, the Acting Justice Minister at the time, with planning with Tweah to complete the illicit transaction.
Judge Willie stressed that as such acts are carried out without formal authorization, they are not covered by Article 61’s protections or the NSRI Act, and therefore should be prosecuted.
