{"id":88997,"date":"2026-04-06T12:16:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T12:16:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/corruption-case-against-ex-finance-minister-tweah-stumbles"},"modified":"2026-04-06T12:41:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T12:41:09","slug":"corruption-case-against-ex-finance-minister-tweah-stumbles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/corruption-case-against-ex-finance-minister-tweah-stumbles","title":{"rendered":"Corruption Case Against Ex-Finance Minister Tweah Stumbles"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #ff6600\"><strong>Africa-Press &#8211; Liberia. <\/strong><\/span>The high-profile US$6.2 million corruption trial involving former Finance Minister Samuel D. Tweah Jr. and four other ex-officials took a dramatic turn Friday, as the prosecution\u2019s lead witness struggled to defend critical elements of the government\u2019s case under intense cross-examination.<\/p>\n<p>Baba Mohammed Boika, Program Manager at the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC), conceded under questioning that investigators did not trace how the disputed funds\u2014approximately L$1.055 billion (about US$5.4\u20135.5 million) and an additional US$500,000\u2014were ultimately used.<\/p>\n<p>The funds, allegedly transferred from government accounts between September 8 and 22, 2023 for \u201cjoint security operations\u201d ahead of the elections, were neither appropriated by the Legislature nor deposited into an official National Security Council account, Boika testified.<\/p>\n<p>However, when pressed by defense counsel Cllr. Arthur Johnson, Boika admitted that the LACC could not establish whether the money was personally misappropriated or who ultimately received it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe were investigating an act of corruption. The defendants could not inform investigators which national security agencies received what allocations. On that basis, we moved forward with the indictment,\u201d Boika told the court.<\/p>\n<p><b>Defense Challenges Foundation of Case<\/b><\/p>\n<p>The admission gave the defense an opening to attack the prosecution\u2019s core argument. Cllr. Johnson, argued that without tracing the flow of funds or proving personal gain, the state cannot sustain a charge of theft.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf investigators did not trace or document how the funds were disbursed or applied, then on what basis did they conclude the funds were stolen?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n<p>Legal observers say this gap could prove fatal to the prosecution\u2019s case, particularly as it appears to rely heavily on the defendants\u2019 inability\u2014or refusal\u2014to explain how the funds were spent.<\/p>\n<p><b>Contradictions in Testimony<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Boika\u2019s testimony revealed internal inconsistencies that further weakened the prosecution\u2019s position.<\/p>\n<p>While he initially claimed investigators were \u201cnot interested\u201d in the operational breakdown of expenditures, he later acknowledged that investigators did in fact seek details on how funds were distributed among security institutions.<\/p>\n<p>Analysts say that contradiction undermines the credibility of the investigation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou cannot build a theft case on a defendant\u2019s refusal to explain expenditures when your own investigation didn\u2019t pursue that explanation,\u201d one legal practitioner noted.<\/p>\n<p><b>National Security Argument Emerges<\/b><\/p>\n<p>The defendants\u2014former senior security officials\u2014reportedly invoked national security concerns to withhold details about the expenditures.<\/p>\n<p>Boika confirmed that this refusal became a basis for the indictment.<\/p>\n<p>But legal experts caution that silence, particularly when tied to national security, does not in itself constitute proof of theft or criminal intent.<\/p>\n<p><b>Dispute Over FIA\u2019s Role in Joint Security<\/b><\/p>\n<p>A separate dispute emerged over whether the Financial Intelligence Agency (FIA) was legally part of the Joint Security framework at the time of the transactions.<\/p>\n<p>Boika claimed the FIA\u2019s inclusion stemmed from a 2023 letter by former National Security Advisor Jefferson Karmoh to former President George Weah.<\/p>\n<p>The defense rejected that claim, citing the National Security Act of 2011. They argue that the FIA\u2019s predecessor\u2014the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), established in 2012 under former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf\u2014already placed it within the Joint Security framework by statute.<\/p>\n<p>They further contend that the 2023 assignment of \u201cCode 800\u201d to the FIA was merely administrative, not a legal basis for membership.<\/p>\n<p><b>Weak Documentary Evidence<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Boika also acknowledged the absence of key documentation, including written authorization from the National Security Council, any emergency declaration and records showing how funds were distributed to specific security agencies.<\/p>\n<p>Although he testified that two defendants admitted the funds were for Joint Security use, no written directive supporting that claim has been presented in court.<\/p>\n<p>Trial Outlook<\/p>\n<p>With limited documentary evidence, the prosecution has relied heavily on Boika\u2019s testimony\u2014now under significant strain.<\/p>\n<p>Courtroom observers report visible fatigue and disorganization within the prosecution team as cross-examination continues.<\/p>\n<p>Legal analysts say the case may ultimately hinge on whether the court accepts \u201clack of explanation\u201d as sufficient proof of criminal intent.<\/p>\n<p>The trial continues before Criminal Court \u2018C\u2019 at the Temple of Justice in Monrovia.<\/p>\n<p><strong>For More News And Analysis About <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Liberia<\/span> Follow <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Africa-Press &#8211; Liberia. The high-profile US$6.2 million corruption trial involving former Finance Minister Samuel D. Tweah Jr. and four other ex-officials took a dramatic turn Friday, as the prosecution\u2019s lead witness struggled to defend critical elements of the government\u2019s case under intense cross-examination. Baba Mohammed Boika, Program Manager at the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC), conceded [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":88996,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,7,12],"tags":[234],"class_list":["post-88997","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-head-lines","category-policy","tag-liberia"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.1 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Corruption Case Against Ex-Finance Minister Tweah Stumbles - Liberia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The high-profile US$6.2 million corruption trial involving former Finance Minister Samuel D. Tweah Jr. and four other ex ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/corruption-case-against-ex-finance-minister-tweah-stumbles\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Corruption Case Against Ex-Finance Minister Tweah Stumbles\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The high-profile US$6.2 million corruption trial involving former Finance Minister Samuel D. Tweah Jr. and four other ex ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/corruption-case-against-ex-finance-minister-tweah-stumbles\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Liberia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-06T12:16:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-06T12:41:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/liberia\/sites\/37\/2026\/04\/sm_1775466631.700616.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"780\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"597\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/corruption-case-against-ex-finance-minister-tweah-stumbles#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/corruption-case-against-ex-finance-minister-tweah-stumbles\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Corruption Case Against Ex-Finance Minister Tweah Stumbles\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-06T12:16:09+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-06T12:41:09+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/corruption-case-against-ex-finance-minister-tweah-stumbles\"},\"wordCount\":677,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/corruption-case-against-ex-finance-minister-tweah-stumbles#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/liberia\/sites\/37\/2026\/04\/sm_1775466631.700616.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Liberia\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"head lines\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/corruption-case-against-ex-finance-minister-tweah-stumbles#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/corruption-case-against-ex-finance-minister-tweah-stumbles\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/corruption-case-against-ex-finance-minister-tweah-stumbles\",\"name\":\"Corruption Case Against Ex-Finance Minister Tweah Stumbles - Liberia\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/corruption-case-against-ex-finance-minister-tweah-stumbles#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/corruption-case-against-ex-finance-minister-tweah-stumbles#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/liberia\/sites\/37\/2026\/04\/sm_1775466631.700616.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-06T12:16:09+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-06T12:41:09+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"description\":\"The high-profile US$6.2 million corruption trial involving former Finance Minister Samuel D. Tweah Jr. and four other ex ...\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/corruption-case-against-ex-finance-minister-tweah-stumbles#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/corruption-case-against-ex-finance-minister-tweah-stumbles\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/corruption-case-against-ex-finance-minister-tweah-stumbles#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/liberia\/sites\/37\/2026\/04\/sm_1775466631.700616.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/liberia\/sites\/37\/2026\/04\/sm_1775466631.700616.jpg\",\"width\":780,\"height\":597,\"caption\":\"Corruption Case Against Ex-Finance Minister Tweah Stumbles\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/corruption-case-against-ex-finance-minister-tweah-stumbles#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Corruption Case Against Ex-Finance Minister Tweah Stumbles\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/\",\"name\":\"Liberia\",\"description\":\"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\",\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"cfeditoren\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Corruption Case Against Ex-Finance Minister Tweah Stumbles - Liberia","description":"The high-profile US$6.2 million corruption trial involving former Finance Minister Samuel D. Tweah Jr. and four other ex ...","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/corruption-case-against-ex-finance-minister-tweah-stumbles","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Corruption Case Against Ex-Finance Minister Tweah Stumbles","og_description":"The high-profile US$6.2 million corruption trial involving former Finance Minister Samuel D. Tweah Jr. and four other ex ...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/corruption-case-against-ex-finance-minister-tweah-stumbles","og_site_name":"Liberia","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa","article_published_time":"2026-04-06T12:16:09+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-04-06T12:41:09+00:00","og_image":[{"width":780,"height":597,"url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/liberia\/sites\/37\/2026\/04\/sm_1775466631.700616.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"cfeditoren","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"cfeditoren","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/corruption-case-against-ex-finance-minister-tweah-stumbles#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/corruption-case-against-ex-finance-minister-tweah-stumbles"},"author":{"name":"cfeditoren","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"headline":"Corruption Case Against Ex-Finance Minister Tweah Stumbles","datePublished":"2026-04-06T12:16:09+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-06T12:41:09+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/corruption-case-against-ex-finance-minister-tweah-stumbles"},"wordCount":677,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/corruption-case-against-ex-finance-minister-tweah-stumbles#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/liberia\/sites\/37\/2026\/04\/sm_1775466631.700616.jpg","keywords":["Liberia"],"articleSection":["all news","head lines","policy"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/corruption-case-against-ex-finance-minister-tweah-stumbles#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/corruption-case-against-ex-finance-minister-tweah-stumbles","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/corruption-case-against-ex-finance-minister-tweah-stumbles","name":"Corruption Case Against Ex-Finance Minister Tweah Stumbles - Liberia","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/corruption-case-against-ex-finance-minister-tweah-stumbles#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/corruption-case-against-ex-finance-minister-tweah-stumbles#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/liberia\/sites\/37\/2026\/04\/sm_1775466631.700616.jpg","datePublished":"2026-04-06T12:16:09+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-06T12:41:09+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"description":"The high-profile US$6.2 million corruption trial involving former Finance Minister Samuel D. Tweah Jr. and four other ex ...","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/corruption-case-against-ex-finance-minister-tweah-stumbles#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/corruption-case-against-ex-finance-minister-tweah-stumbles"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/corruption-case-against-ex-finance-minister-tweah-stumbles#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/liberia\/sites\/37\/2026\/04\/sm_1775466631.700616.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/liberia\/sites\/37\/2026\/04\/sm_1775466631.700616.jpg","width":780,"height":597,"caption":"Corruption Case Against Ex-Finance Minister Tweah Stumbles"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/corruption-case-against-ex-finance-minister-tweah-stumbles#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Corruption Case Against Ex-Finance Minister Tweah Stumbles"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/","name":"Liberia","description":"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb","name":"cfeditoren","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"cfeditoren"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88997","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/84"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88997"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88997\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":89001,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88997\/revisions\/89001"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/88996"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88997"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88997"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88997"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}