An alleged long-standing syndicate involving several layers at the Ministry of Finance and Development planning has now been uncovered.
Sources at the Ministry of Finance told the Front PageAfrica Sunday that the Comptroller and Accountant General of the Republic Janga A. Kowo kaput the syndicate and immediately notified the management of the Bank in question – GN Bank to seize all transactions in the affected account.
According to report, Liberia’s Comptroller General with the approval of Finance and Development Planning Samuel Tweah invited the National Security Agency to launch a full scale investigation in the matter.
Six employees at the Ministry of Finance have been suspended including the Director of Treasury Services Madame Lorpu Sworh.
six individuals and also senior officials at the GN-Bank have been called in for questioning by the NSA.
Sources say authorities at the Ministry of Finance became suspicious when transactions in the account ran far beyond the normal amount that is normally withdrawn from such account. There are reports that the account with the GN-BANK has been a government account long before the coming in of the CDC led government.
Up to L$6 million may have been withdrawn from the account, sources say.
The reported bank account is owned by the Ministry of MFDP for the purpose of salaries that are not credited to employees’ account to be returned to the government due to either account name mismatch, wrong account number, duplicated entries, etc on the payroll, and rejected by bank system as invalid during automated processing.
This is routinely is done after which an official advice is sent to MFDP with the details.
The Ministry then issues a check to the employee to draw their salary against the account after reconciling with the parent institution.
Investigation continues.
