Liberia: Court Suspends Argument in Tweah’s Case
Arguments in the long-awaited trial of former Finance Minister Samuel Tweah and three others have been suspended. The case was scheduled for Tuesday, July 1, 2025.
Legal arguments on a writ of prohibition filed by defendants against Judge Roosevelt Z. Willie of Criminal Court “C” and the Ministry of Justice seeking to overturn he judge’s earlier ruling in the case have been suspended.
Supreme Court Clerk Cllr. Sam Mamulu announced the suspension Tuesday, citing “unforeseen circumstances beyond the Court’s control.” No new date has been scheduled for the hearing, leaving the case in a state of legal limbo.
However, in a motion filed with the Supreme Court, prosecutors argued that Justice Yuoh reached the mandatory retirement age of 70 on June 26, 2025, and is no longer legally qualified to preside over new cases.
Pushing their argument, the prosecution cited Article 72(b) of the Liberian Constitution, noting that Justice Yuoh may only complete cases she began before retirement, but cannot initiate new ones.
Prior to this legal argument, Tweah lawyers filed a petition for a prohibition, while the hearing was still before Chamber Justice Ceaineh Clinton Johnson. The trial was halted, and the justice in the chamber later granted an alternative writ of prohibition referring the matter to the full bench.
The case centers on allegations of economic sabotage and unauthorized financial transfers totaling over L$1 billion and US$500,000 from the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP) to the Financial Intelligence Agency FIA
The defendants facing trial include Samuel Tweah, Cllr. Nyanti Tuan (former Acting Minister of Justice), Stanley S. Ford (former Director General of the Financial Intelligence Agency), D. Moses P. Cooper (former Financial Intelligence Unit Comptroller), and Jefferson Karmoh (former National Security Advisor).
They are charged with economic sabotage (including fraud, misuse of public money, property, or records, and illegal disbursement or expenditure of public funds), among other offenses.
The accused individuals were indicted in September 2024, following the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission’s (LACC) filing of a complaint through the Ministry of Justice.
The complaint detailed the alleged transfer of funds from the National Security Agency’s account to the operational accounts of the Financial Intelligence Agency (FIA) held at the Central Bank of Liberia (CBL). The defendants were formally arraigned in December 2024, pleading not guilty to all charges.
The case began during the February Term of Criminal Court “C,” when Judge Willie denied the defense’s motion to dismiss the indictment.
By New Dawn.
