“Free Lunch Is Over”: AREPT Rolls Out Indictments

-Chair Edwin Kla Martin Cites US$6.7M and L$845M Flows Plus an US$851K Renovation Gap; Says Recovered Proceeds Should Fund Hospitals and Schools if Convictions Are Secured

MONROVIA, Liberia — Liberia’s Asset Recovery and Property Retrieval Task Force (AREPT) on Friday, November 7, announced sweeping grand-jury indictments in what it says was a multi-year money-laundering and public-funds theft scheme that moved at least US$6,731,441 and roughly L$845,240,057 through dozens of bank accounts between 2020 and 2024.

AREPT Chair Cllr. Edwin Kla Martin said those indicted include former Chief of Protocol Norah Finda Bundoo; her daughter, Anita Pamela Jallah (CEO of Anita Group of Companies, Inc.); Francis Blamo of Gracious Ride; Saah F. Johnson of Masako Autospare Service; and “forty others,” on counts including money laundering, theft of property, criminal conspiracy, misuse of public funds, abuse of office, and violations of the Public Financial Management laws. He said two suspects—Edward Pompong of the Ministry of Commerce and Johnson—have been arrested and forwarded to the Monrovia Central Prison pending bond.

“This is not a witch hunt,” Martin told reporters at AREPT headquarters in Paynesville. “If assets are stolen or suspicious, you have to give an account—through the due process of law.”

How AREPT says the scheme operated

• Banking trail: Investigators traced funds through more than 10 accounts linked to Anita Group of Companies, Inc. and Anita Business Center, which Martin said showed no legitimate business activity commensurate with deposits and transfers. He alleged Bundoo appeared on banking records as corporate secretary to accounts, and that about 40 individuals acted as depositors, cash movers or account operators.
• Amounts alleged: Total USD transactions across the suspicious accounts were put at US$6,731,441; total Liberian-dollar transactions at roughly L$845,240,057.
• Court clearance: Early in the probe, Gracious Ride challenged AREPT’s legality at the Supreme Court. Martin said the Court rejected the petition, clearing the Task Force—established by Executive Order 126 and strengthened by Executive Order 145—to proceed.

Separate count: Foreign Affairs renovation and MDMC

AREPT also announced an indictment tied to a September 12, 2023 renovation contract at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, signed by Acting Deputy Minister Thalma Duncan Sawyer and managed by MDMC CEO John Youboty. A private engineering assessment commissioned by AREPT found US$851,136 in works “cannot be accounted for,” Martin said. AREPT said Youboty, his project manager, and Sawyer were indicted for theft of property, criminal facilitation and conspiracy.

Citing the indictment, Martin publicly urged the government to cancel existing contracts with MDMC. “You cannot be under criminal prosecution and benefit from government,” he said.

Properties flagged as proceeds of crime AREPT displayed slides it said depict real estate acquired with illicit proceeds:

• Brewerville property: Deed value US$73,000 (land), acquired in 2018; current appraisal pending with the LRA.
• 12-unit building: Purchased in 2024 for US$137,000 and developed in under a year, AREPT said.
• Third estate: Land acquired in 2022 for US$120,000.
• Gracious Ride Taxis: “Total value exceeds US$400,000,” Martin said.

He added that title traces tie the properties to Bundoo (as signatory on corporate bank accounts) and to Jallah (as CEO). AREPT said the properties have not yet been seized; restraint and recovery actions will follow through the courts.

International Forensics and Wider Net

Martin said AREPT is being assisted pro bono by UK-based anti-fraud investigators with decades of experience in forensic money movement and laundering cases. He added the task force has identified alleged pass-through companies in West Africa, Europe, and North America and is working with partners to trace assets abroad. Where needed, he said, AREPT will seek Interpol support.

On statute-of-limitations questions, Martin argued notice-based limits would not bar recovery where the state had no earlier notice of hidden assets. “If raised as an affirmative defense, we’ll challenge it in keeping with law,” he said.

“Free Lunch Is Over”

Responding to concerns about political manipulation of anti-corruption work, Martin insisted the new cases are evidence-based and will be tested in court. “Lunchtime is over. Free lunch is over,” he said, warning contractors and officials against using shell companies and mobilization pretexts to drain public funds. “Anybody doing business now with fake companies to move money—rest assured that your days are numbered; we will come after you.”

Rice Case Heads to Court This Term

Martin linked the Foreign Affairs renovation to a broader probe into the use of a US$2.5 million Saudi donation that included roughly US$500,000 in rice supplies he said were mismanaged by officials. AREPT has already secured indictments against former Foreign Minister Dee-Maxwell Saah Kemayah, former Internal Affairs Minister Varney A. Sirleaf and others in the rice matter. “We now have three cases before court and hope to commence our first case this November term,” he said, adding that proceeds recovered should be used for visible public goods such as hospitals and schools—not salaries.

Due Process and What Happens Next

• Court process: Defendants may post bond and contest the charges at trial. AREPT emphasized all are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
• Asset recovery: AREPT said it will file to restrain assets identified as proceeds and, upon conviction, move to place them in government’s name.
• Expanded docket: AREPT’s caseload has grown from 20 to 40 matters, including farmland allegedly used to park funds. Martin said evidence has been collected dating back 10 years on money flows and property builds.

Political Stakes

The announcement intensifies President Joseph Nyuma Boakai’s asset-recovery agenda and targets politically sensitive figures from the previous administration. Martin repeatedly rejected claims of score-settling. “Things you did not own before coming to power—and in less than four years, these real properties—this is what we are bringing to light,” he said, adding the amounts alleged “alone could refurbish JFK or Redemption.”

AREPT Vice Chair Dr. Renny Jackson attended the briefing. Responses from those named in the indictments were not immediately available. The Liberian Post could not independently verify AREPT’s banking and property claims at press time.

Martin’s bottom line: “All those indicted in these two cases will be prosecuted. Everything acquired criminally will be recovered. This country has to change—and no one moving forward will do this and go unpunished.”