U.S .Ambassador to Liberia, Christine Elder, has lauded the Liberian Government for the level of cooperation to the team of international investigators probing the allegedly missing banknotes from the Freeport of Monrovia a few months ago.
“The Government of Liberia has provided full cooperation to the process, never wanting to waiver in its determination and commitment to ensure that findings and report from the investigation will be made public once it is drafted,” the US envoy emphasized.
Ambassador Elder made the statement at the official signing ceremony of a US$112 million grant given by the US Government to the Government of Liberia at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Monrovia on Thursday.
She disclosed that the investigators have concluded the information gathering phase of the investigation, during which they met with persons of interest, including domestic investigators such as the Liberia National Police, the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC), and the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU).
The US Ambassador assured the Liberian Government and its people of her country’s commitment to ensuring that the findings from the investigation will be released immediately following the festive season.
She, however, noted that the report will be void of publishing the names of people in an effort to protect their privacy; something she said is in no way going to undermine the credibility of the findings.
Elder called on Liberians to avoid pre-empting the outcome of the investigation, stressing that “suggesting what the conclusion of the investigation will be was premature.”
While carrying out its task, the investigative team conducted series of forensic audits which, according to her, enabled the team to access the basic facts relating to the investigation.
“After the findings are released, it will be left to the Government of Liberia to determine how to address the issues that are raised in the report or areas which might require further collaboration or cooperation,” stressed Elder.
It can be recalled that the United States Government through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) hired an international investigation firm to probe into the alleged missing banknote scandal amounting to about L$16 billion.
According to Elder, the Government of Liberia and the United States Government remain committed to releasing the findings of the report once it is finalized.
LINA
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