Explainer: What You Need to Know About the Tweah Corruption Case

 

For the second time, the Supreme Court of Liberia has directed Criminal Court 'C' to move forward with the US$6 million corruption case against former Finance Minister Samuel Tweah and other ex-members of the National Security Council (NSC) who served under former President George Weah.

The high court made the call after flatly rejecting the defendants’ claim that they could not be criminally charged, a claim built on the argument that their actions were shielded by national security legislation and that they were immune from prosecution.

The justices were not persuaded. They ruled that the petitioners do not qualify for NSC immunity or confidentiality protections, and that under Article 61 of Liberia’s Constitution, presidential immunity belongs only to the President; it cannot be passed down to subordinates.

“After reviewing the petitioners’ petition, the respondent’s returns, the statutes, the Constitution, and the records sent to this Court, we hold that the petitioners are not members of the National Security Council under the 2011 Act; therefore, they cannot claim NSC immunity or confidentiality,” the justices stated.

“We further hold that under Article 61 of the Constitution of Liberia, presidential immunity is personal to the President and cannot be invoked by subordinates,” the ruling added.

Tweah and his co-defendants did not deny the transfers. According to court documents, they admitted to moving the funds but argued that they did so under Section 11(d) of the National Security Reform and Intelligence (NSRI) Act of 2011, which allows NSC funds to be spent “for any purpose necessary to carry out its functions” even without following standard government expenditure rules when national security is at stake.

They maintained that US$500,000 and L$1.55 billion were withdrawn from the Central Bank of Liberia through the Financial Intelligence Agency’s operational account and spent in the service of national security, on the authority of the NSC.

The defense leaned heavily on Section 3(f) of the NSRI Act, which binds every NSC member and employee to an oath of secrecy, warning that anyone who reveals information acquired through NSC membership faces a fine of L$100,000 or up to ten years in prison, or both. Prosecuting them, they argued, would force them to breach that oath.

Prosecutors pushed back forcefully, repeatedly arguing that Article 61 of the 1986 Constitution does not cover the defendants and that they must stand trial at Criminal Court ‘C’, the court with proper jurisdiction over the case.

Standing in the dock alongside Tweah are Cllr. Nyanti Tuan, former Acting Minister of Justice; Stanley S. Ford, former Director General of the Financial Intelligence Agency; D. Moses P. Cooper, former FIA Comptroller; and Jefferson Karmoh, former National Security Advisor.

They face charges of Economic Sabotage, which includes fraud against the Internal Revenue of Liberia, misuse of public money and property, and illegal disbursement of government funds, as well as Theft of Property, Money Laundering, Criminal Facilitation, and Criminal Conspiracy.

The funds are alleged to have been transferred from the National Security Agency’s account into the FIA’s operational accounts held at the Central Bank of Liberia.

The prosecution laid out a detailed paper trail. Between September 8 and 21, 2023, the Central Bank of Liberia transferred L$1,055,152,540, roughly US$5.6 million at the then-exchange rate of L$190, into the FIA’s operational accounts on Tweah’s instruction. The prosecution produced transfer instructions from the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, which the CBL submitted to the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission, along with a statement of the FIA account in question.

On September 22, 2023, the CBL wired an additional US$500,000 into the FIA’s dollar account (A/C #: 1502021605), again at the Finance Minister’s direction. That same day, D. Moses P. Cooper, then Acting FIA Comptroller, withdrew the full US$500,000 in cash.

Investigators found no documentary authorization from the NSC, the National Joint Security, or the FIA itself approving Tweah to direct those transfers. The prosecution contends that Tweah conspired with then-Acting Justice Minister Cllr. Nyenati Tuan is to illegally move the funds to FIA accounts for subsequent cash withdrawal.

Former Prosecutor Cllr. Lafayette Gould explained that even though the Supreme Court had already denied Tweah’s initial petition, the defendants filed for re-argument. One justice signed onto that petition, and the court agreed to hear it, but ultimately denied the prayer again and sent the case back to the lower court.

“The prayer to reverse the first ruling to say that Minister Tweah was immune from prosecution was denied. The Supreme Court upheld the lower court ruling and has now asked the lower court to proceed because Article 61 cannot be used to shield Tweah from prosecution,” Gould said.

He drew a comparison to the earlier case of former Defense Minister Brownie Samukai, noting that the Article 61 argument had been tried there too, and similarly failed.

“They are returning to the lower court for prosecution, and it is their responsibility to vindicate themselves from the charges. If they are found guilty, they can take an appeal,” Gould added.

When the case first commenced, Judge Blamo A. Dixon presided over it. He was later replaced by Judge Roosevelt Willie, and the bench at Criminal Court ‘C’ is now occupied by Judge Ousman Feika.

This is routine under Liberian law. The statute uses the word “shall,” making it mandatory, not optional, for the Chief Justice to assign circuit judges across the country’s court circuits on a rotating basis. Where exactly each judge is sent is left to the Chief Justice’s discretion. The law reads: “The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court shall assign, on a rotating system, a Circuit Judge to each quarterly session of the various circuits….” (Section 3.9, Title 17: Judiciary Law, 4LCLR.) 

Conclusion: Liberia’s Supreme Court has again cleared the way for the US$6 million corruption case against former Finance Minister Samuel Tweah and other ex-NSC officials to proceed in Criminal Court “C,” firmly rejecting their attempt to use national security laws and presidential immunity as a shield.

 The Court held that the defendants were not entitled to NSC immunity or confidentiality protections under the 2011 Act, and emphasized that Article 61’s immunity applies only to the President—not subordinates. With that legal barrier removed, the case now returns to the trial court for the accused to answer the allegations, challenge the prosecution’s evidence, and pursue appeals if necessary.