By Garmah Lomoh|contributor
After a long and thorough investigation by police investigators, GT employee identified as Andrea Doubah and Genesis David have been charged and sent to court for Criminally withdrawing monies from Charles Sirleaf former President Sirleaf son and his wife Fata Donso Sirleaf.
The two Guaranty Trust(GT) Bank were with various crimes ranging from theft of property, Forgery, aiding consummation of crime and Criminal conspiracy.
Police investigation revealed that on April 23,2020 and May 25,2020, Charles Sirleaf wrote the Liberia National Police through his legal Counselor Johnny Momo that USD 886,580 and 10,480,000 disappeared from his saving and salary accounts respectively.
When Mr. Sirleaf opened his accounts at GT. Bank, Mr. Sirleaf submitted to the management of the bank, specimen of his signature affixed on his account card. It was also gathered that Mr. Sirleaf and his wife Fata Donso Sirleaf operates a checking account title Bojelene Guest House Incorporated.
According to the police sheet, since Mr. Sirleaf was in the employ of CBL, when the accounts were opened, as per his position in the bank and a member of the first family of Liberia at the time, he was and still considered as political exposed person(PEP) including his wife Mrs. Fata Donso Sirleaf as well as his siblings thus allowing GT. Bank to place him in the category of high Net worth individual ( HNI).
Mr. Sirleaf statement to the police said that his signatures were forged and that documents submitted to him by management of the bank in respect to the forged counter check and withdrawal slips used to debit monies (LRD&USD) from his accounts were not signed by him.
He asserted that his writing cannot by understood by anyone including himself and that all of his communications have been dictated to his secretary who in turn do written communications on his behalf.
Mrs. Fata Donso Sirleaf was accused by the account officer to Mr. Sirleaf account that she withdrew monies from those accounts in question but Mrs. Sirleaf denied the allegation and said when the government of Liberia decided to freeze her husband Mr. Sirleaf accounts at GT. Bank in relation to the missing L$16bn, the account officer to Mr. Sirleaf, Doubah called and advised her that she withdraw her cash and take it home so that the government could not seized same.
But she Mrs. Sirleaf refused and informed defendant Doubah that due to the amount in her account, it was risky to keep the cash home as such she( Mrs. Sirleaf) suggested that her United States dollars account be debited and the cash be deposited into an account to be opened by her in her brother name at the same bank.
She therefore withdrew USD 90,000.00 and deposited it in her brother account and later withdrew USD 40,000.00 with 50,000 remaining.
For his part, defendant Genesis David head of Operations at GT. Bank head office in Sinkor and in his written statement to the police said he supervised tellers at the Sinkor branch as his responsibilities and admitted affixing approvals from on all the slips that were used as source documents to allow withdrawal from Mr. Sirleaf accounts executed at the bank.
Also for her part, defendant Doubah denied signing any slips of withdrawal from Mr. Sirleaf accounts but rather said it was Mrs. Sirleaf who withdrew monies from her husband accounts where it was captured by CcCTV camara but management sent the recording of the CCTV which didn’t show anything of what she said.
Findings of the investigation showed that the USD over 88,000 withdrawn from Bojelene Guest House Incorporated accounts was not authorized by Mr. & Mrs. Sirleaf.
Conclusion of the investigation revealed that in view of the aforementioned, couple with the facts that the signatures affixed on the counter check leaf used as source document to debit USD 88,000.00 from Bojelene Guest House Incorporated account is not the signatures of the account holders Mr. & Mrs. Sirleaf as well as Mr. Sirleaf didn’t sign the withdrawal slips used as source documents to debit monies amounting to LRD 10, 480,000.00 and 850,500.00 respectively.
Mr. Sirleaf was among several ex-officials of the central Bank of Liberia indicted by the George Weah administration over LRD$16 billion dollars (USD$106million) but was later found not guilty.
