By Jonathan O. Grigsby, Snr. Contributor
The tougher talking United accredited near Liberia’s capital, Monrovia, Michael A. McCarthy, says the U.S Government will employ sanctions as needed on an ongoing basis in support of their shared development, democracy and security goals guided by the US Strategy on countering corruption.
According to Ambassador McCarthy said the Global Magnitsky, or GloMag, sanctions are deservedly a hot topic in Liberia and some Liberians have urged the US Government to implement more sanctions and even proposed names; though others have objected that the sanctions process lacks due process.
“Let me be clear, GloMag is a tool the United States uses to protect itself from particularly corrupt actors, not a punishment against a country or government. It is also in no way a substitute for a domestic judicial process in the host country, including prosecution. Ultimately, “due process” or an accused’s “day in court” can only happen under Liberian law, in Liberian courts”, the US Ambassador pointed out.
He indicated that Liberians generally agree with the United States Government analysis that corruption is the primary cause of Liberia’s failure to thrive and most country governments in the international community share that assessment.
Ambassador McCarthy in his open letter issued Thursday in Monrovia in observance of International Anti-Corruption Day Friday, stressed that is why the US Department of the Treasury took the extraordinary step of sanctioning five senior Liberian officials in only three years under GloMag.
“This set of sanctions has led to some positive results, including the resignation of the three most recently sanctioned officials. In United States GloMag sanction announcements, Liberians have heard unusually stark language from the Government of the United States regarding the corruption of these individuals”, he emphasized.
The US Ambassador in his open letter stated that in some cases, Liberians have also heard responses from the sanctioned officials themselves.
Ambassador McCarthy mentioned that in the upcoming 2023 elections, however, it will be the turn of the people of Liberia to let their voices to be heard on this topic, especially since several of those sanctioned officials may be running for office.
But the US Diplomat said ultimately, it is Liberians and not the U.S. Government that are responsible for ensuring good governance in Liberia.
Ambassador McCarthy: “Sanctions can help, but the ballot box is a far more important tool for holding officials accountable. If Liberians choose to elect or re-elect sanctioned officials as their leaders, that will send a very clear signal about how they truly feel about the fight against corruption and the future of their country. As I’ve said many times before, corruption is not a uniquely Liberian problem it is a global issue, and one that we suffer from in the United States at all levels of governance”.
He said on International Anti-Corruption Day, it is worth considering what more Liberians can do to fight this scourge and he believes there are many urgent steps the Government of Liberia can take now to fight corruption that requires no international assistance, many of which are in fact already enshrined in law.
Ambassador McCarthy inclusion assured the Liberian people that the United States Government anti-corruption efforts remain robust and continuous.
US Sanctioned Officials in August
On 15 August 2022, the United States sanctioned three senior Liberian Government officials Nathaniel McGill, Sayma Syrenius Cephus, and Bill Twehway for their involvement in ongoing public corruption in Liberia.
McGill is Liberia’s minister of state for presidential affairs and chief of staff to President George Weah; Cephus is the current solicitor general and chief prosecutor of Liberia; and Twehway is the current managing director of the National Port Authority (NPA).
Following the actions by the US, all property and interests in property of the three individuals that are in the US or in the possession or control of US persons must be blocked and reported to the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
In addition, persons who engage in certain transactions with the designed individuals risk also being exposed to sanctions or subject to enforcement action, the Treasury said.
In its statement, the Treasury Department said that corruption has been a long challenge for Liberia’s democracy and its economy, robbing the Liberian people of funds for public services, empowering illicit actors, and destroying the rule of law.
All three government officials are being designated for being a foreign person who is a current government official who has engaged in corruption, the misappropriation of state assets, the expropriation of private assets for personal gain and corruption related to the extraction of natural resources.
The Treasury Department said that during his tenure in government, McGill “bribed business owners, received bribes from potential investors, and accepted kickbacks for steering contracts to companies in which he has an interest”.
McGill “manipulated public procurement processes to award multi-million dollar contracts to companies in which he has ownership” and used government funds allocated to other Liberian government institutions to run his own projects. He also made off-the-books payments in cash to senior government leaders, and organised warlords to threaten political rivals, the Treasury said.
Cephus received bribes from people in exchange for having their court cases dropped and has also shielded money launderers and helped clear them through the court system, the Treasury Department.
Twehway orchestrated the diversion of $1.5m in vessel storage fee funds from the NPA into a private account and formed a private company to which he later unilaterally awarded a contract for loading and unloading cargo at the Port of Buchanan, the Treasury Department said. Twehway and others used family members to obfuscate their own involvement in the company while still benefitting financially from the company.
