Africa-Press – Liberia. The Ministry of Justice has reindicted the former executive director of the National Investment Commission (NIC), George Wisner, and the Secretary of the Liberian Senate, Nanborlor Singbeh for allegedly duping two Czech Republic investors Martin and Pavel Miloschewsky. The indictment, which focuses on economic sabotage, will affect not just Wisner and Singbeh, but several other co-defendants as well.
Before the new charge, the government had suffered a defeat at the 9th Judicial Circuit Court, in Bong County against Wisner and Singbeh and other defendants when it proceeded to also indict the lead state witness and Attorney In Fact of the Czech investors, Hans Armstrong.
The case was then dismissed. However, the Court, while dismissing the US$5 million case, left room for the government to reindict Wisner and his co-defendants, pending the dropping of a similar criminal indictment against Armstrong to continue with the case.
The new indictment, according to prosecutors, was triggered by the discovery of a communication dated May 22, 2015, and addressed to then Finance Minister, Amara Konneh in which Wisner, among many things, requested special investment incentives for MHM Eko Liberia, despite the company not meeting the requirements.
The alleged letter begins: “The commission has conducted and finalized the economic evaluation of the submission made by Nanborlor Singbeh on February 10, 2015 on behalf of the company for the special investment incentives. The company portfolio is manufacturing (rock quarry) with a proposed investment of US$7,616,152 as of February 10, 2015. [Therefore] I am pleased to recommend MHM Eko Liberia to your honorable office for certification and the granting of applicable incentives as stipulated by the Consolidated Tax Amendment Act of 2011.”
But, prosecutors claimed that MHM Eko Liberia, by then, did not reach the criteria under the Amended Consolidated Tax Act of 2011 to benefit from the government duty-free privileges. Prosecutors claimed that rock quarry by the act is excluded from the listing of companies that qualified for the special investment incentives.
They further claimed that at the time of Wisner’s letter, the company MHM Eko Liberia, account at Ecobank showed only US$3,500, instead of US$7,616,1a 52.
For Singbeh, the state prosecutors claimed that the defendants while serving as President of the company abused the incentives to ship equipment and materials, costing the country over US$410,050.50 in tax revenue, over the years.
“As a result of the duty free scan with Winser, and his incentive officer, Olo A B. Karr, awarded the amount of US$16,853.39 as payable, but, due to the duty free Singbeh managed to pay US$8,261, of which hey cost the government to lose the amount of US$8,582.39, and cluding another shipment under the under the scan duty free privileges,” duty-creators claimed.
The prosecutors then cited the alleged action of Singbeh to import several mining and non-mining equipment on Duty-free2, 2016, without paying the relevant taxes as one of the many reasons for his prosecution.
The case against Wisner and the other defendants, starts from June 2013 up to and including July 19, when two Czech Republic investors Martin and Pavel Miloschewsky expressed interest in the country’s business sectors with the intent to invest in the production of crushed rocks.
The Miloschewsky brothers were introduced to Singbeh by the former Czech Consul General to Liberia, Karel Socher. Singbeh would later become a shareholder in the company, MHM Eko Liberia and its president and chief executive officer.
Also, prosecutors claimed that the investors transferred the total amount of US$5million in both cash and mining equipment through the two banking institutions, Ecobank Liberia limited and the Afriland First Bank. The mining equipment was shipped, through the Freeport Monrovia for the operation of the actualizing,
But the investors are now claiming that Singbeh did not establish the company, and he has failed to account for the monies and the mining equipment and is now seeking government intervention to have Singbeh account for the money and the equipment. Meanwhile, Wisner, Singbeh, and some of the co-defendants have surrendered themselves to court after a writ of arrest was issued against them.
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