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2014 National Security Agency illegal seizure

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Full article adapted from Wikipedia revision 1352326110 by Wikipedia contributors. Text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Formatting has been adapted; article text and references are retained. Snapshot imported 2026-09-25.

A political scandal in Liberia arose in 2014 after five South Korean businessmen were arrested and US$247,500 was seized from them by operatives of the National Security Agency (NSA).[1][2]

The incident drew public scrutiny because the NSA was headed by Fombah Sirleaf, the stepson of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, and because Justice Minister Christiana Tah later resigned after accusing the president of interfering with her investigation.[3][4]

A special committee appointed to investigate the incident concluded that the Korean businessmen were not engaged in illegal activity.[5] The investigation further found that the seizure was a criminal conspiracy by NSA operatives and co-conspirators outside of the agency who had lured the Korean businessmen to Liberia, and recommended prosecution of all perpetrators.[6]

In 2020, the 13th Judicial Circuit Court in Margibi County awarded four of the businessmen US$349,000 in special damages and US$1 million for their treatment while in NSA custody.[7]

Background

A group of five Korean businessmen had arranged the purchase of gold bars through emails with Nasser Aly, whom they believed to be a Lebanese gold dealer with mining interests in Liberia.[2] Under the deal negotiated by Kim Aleck, one of the Korean businessmen, the counter parties agreed to the sale of 16 kilograms (35 lb)s of gold at the price of US$568,000.[2] Half of the purchase price amounting to US$284,000 was to be paid upfront in Liberia.[2]

The incident occurred during the Ebola virus epidemic in Liberia, when the Liberian government was under severe domestic and international pressure over its handling of the outbreak.[8]

Arrest and seizure

On July 8, 2014, at around 13:30, National Security Agency operatives carried out a raid at the City King Hotel in Monrovia without a warrant.[9] Five NSA operatives burst into a hotel room where the Korean businessmen and Aly had been holding a discussion for a few minutes.[2][4] Cash in the amount of US$247,500 and other possessions including a gas dish, melting dish, two packs of gold testing chemicals, an electronic gold scale, and two pocket wallets containing money and credit cards were seized by the NSA.[1] Earlier on the day of the raid, at 11:00 am, the Korean businessmen had withdrawn the same amount of money seized from the Sinkor, Old Road branch of the International Bank of Liberia and then gone directly to the City King Hotel, expecting to complete the transaction with Aly.[9][5]

Following the seizure, representatives of the businessmen sought the return of approximately US$284,000, arguing that the funds had been legally withdrawn for a commercial transaction.[10]

The Korean businessmen were arrested by the operatives and taken from the hotel to the headquarters of the NSA.[2] In a lawsuit filed in 2015 against the Government of Liberia, the Korean businessmen alleged that while in custody at NSA headquarters, they were stripped naked and "subjected to various forms of humiliation and degradation without any formal charge or they being advised of their rights as required by the law".[2]

The NSA charged the Korean businessmen with counterfeiting and money laundering.[4] A media exposé around three weeks after the incident reported that the NSA planned to deport the Korean businessmen without refunding the money.[4] The Korean businessmen had allegedly been threatened to agree to relinquish their money in exchange for dropping of the criminal charges lodged by the NSA against them.[4]

According to a media report, Aly was allowed by the NSA to flee Liberia after the incident.[4]

Investigation

The National Chronicle, a local daily newspaper, broke news of the seizure in a front page story on July 30, 2014. The story that appeared alleged that NSA was in cahoots with Nasser Aly in conning the Korean businessmen to come to Liberia so they could rob them of the upfront payment.[4]

Christiana Tah, Minister of Justice and Attorney General, was notified by legal counsel for the Korean businessmen of their arrest by the NSA.[4] She initiated an investigation by the Ministry of Justice and Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission into the incident and the charges brought against the Korean businessmen by the NSA.[4] The Minister of Justice wrote to Fombah Sirleaf in his capacity as Director of the NSA, urging him to "forward this matter to the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) for a thorough investigation in conjunction with the NSA" and during the duration of the investigation to place the seized money in an escrow account.[4] The same National Chronicle exposé alleged that Sirleaf was not cooperating with the Ministry of Justice investigation and was impeding it by using his family ties.[4]

After news of the seizure became public, there was a backlash against the government for apparent abuse of power and the family ties between Fombah Sirleaf and the President of Liberia, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.[4] GNN Liberia, a local news publication, in a September 2017 article quoted analysts who felt the counterfeiting charge by the NSA was likely bogus because the cash seized had been withdrawn from the bank right before seizure.[4]

The incident generated public debate in Liberia, with some commentators opposing any refund of the seized funds and framing the matter as a test of government accountability.[11]

A Special Independent Committee was established by President Sirleaf to investigate the incident.[1] The committee, headed by Counselor David A.B. Jallah, then Dean and Professor of Law at the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law, University of Liberia, produced a 3-volume, 399-page report and handed it at first to Dr. Edward McClain, then Minister of State for Presidential affairs, instead of President Sirleaf.[5] The Jallah Commission found that the Korean businessmen had committed no crime, as had been alleged by the NSA to justify the seizure and arrest.[5] Further, the Jallah Commission uncovered a conspiracy by the five NSA operatives directly involved, along with the gold dealer Naseer Aly and two others from outside the agency, to defraud the Korean businessmen. Among the report's recommendations, the committee called for return of the cash seized to the Korean businessmen and for the matter to be referred to the Ministry of Justice for the prosecution of all conspirators.[5]

The Findings and Recommendations of a Special Independent Committee prepared by Jallah Commission languished for weeks before formal acceptance of receipt by President Sirleaf in December 2014.[1]

Resignation of Justice Minister

Following the incident and her attempts to investigate, Tah resigned from government positions in October 2014, alleging that President Sirleaf blocked her investigation into the National Security Agency.[12] She offered the following remarks justifying her decision in a "Statement of Resignation":

I can no longer continue to struggle to vindicate the portfolio designated for the office of the Attorney General and Minister of Justice of the Republic of Liberia when it is eviscerated and reduced to a pretext to legitimate and perpetrate arbitrary activities and inscrutable practices under the guise of "the rule of law".[13]

It was at the press conference to deliver her Statement of Resignation that Tah accused President Sirleaf of interfering with the investigation into the NSA seizure.[3]

Lawsuits

Shortly after the incident, three of the Korean businessmen filed a lawsuit on August 11, 2014 at Criminal Court "C" at the Temple of Justice against Fombah Sirleaf and various others in the security sector and motioned to the court for return of their money.[9] On August 29, 2014 the motion was dismissed by the court pending the investigation by the Ministry of Justice.[14]

A year after the Jallah Commission submitted its report including the recommendations to return the seized cash and conduct criminal prosecutions of those involved, the Government of Liberia still had not acted on the recommendations.[2] In response to the government's inaction, the Korean businessmen filed another lawsuit against the Government of Liberia, claiming US$2.5 million in punitive damages and US$349,000 in special damages.[2]

In September 2020, the 13th Judicial Circuit Court in Margibi County ruled on a case brought by four of the Korean businessmen. According to Hot Pepper Liberia, the Ministry of Justice accepted responsibility for the conduct of the NSA, and Judge Mardea Chenoweth awarded the plaintiffs US$349,000 in special damages and US$1 million in damages related to their treatment while in custody.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "When Will the Liberian Government Pay the Korean Businessmen's Money?". Daily Observer. December 2, 2014. Archived from the original on February 12, 2015. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Koreans Sue Liberian Government Over Seizure of US$2 million". FrontPage Africa. August 19, 2015.
  3. ^ a b "Liberia's Ebola Crisis Puts President in Harsh Light". New York Times. October 30, 2014. Archived from the original on October 21, 2017. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "President Sirleaf Orders University Of Liberia Law Dean To Investigate Her Son For Korean US$284,000 Seized". GNN Liberia. September 12, 2014.
  5. ^ a b c d e Johnson, Bettie K. (December 2016). "Investigative Report Says No Money Laundering Occurred in Korean Case". FrontPage Africa. Archived from the original on 2017-10-22. Retrieved 2017-10-21.
  6. ^ "Detention Confirmed". The News. November 22, 2016. Archived from the original on October 22, 2017. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
  7. ^ a b "13th Judicial Circuit Court: Justice and Purgation in Korean Businessmen's Case". Hot Pepper Liberia. 12 October 2020. Retrieved 3 May 2026.
  8. ^ "Ebola Response Roadmap Situation Report" (PDF). WHO. 22 October 2014. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 October 2014. Retrieved 22 October 2014.
  9. ^ a b c "Committee Setup To Investigate President Sirleaf's Son On Seizure Of Korean US$247,000.00 Releases Report With Recommendations; Ordering Refund Of The Money". GNN Liberia. November 8, 2014. Archived from the original on November 11, 2019. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
  10. ^ "Liberian Group Seeks to Recover Korean U.S.$284K". The News. 25 August 2014. Retrieved 3 May 2026 – via AllAfrica.
  11. ^ "GOL Refunding Koreans Would Be a Travesty of Justice". The New Dawn. 25 November 2014. Retrieved 3 May 2026 – via AllAfrica.
  12. ^ Giahyue, James (October 7, 2014). "Liberia justice minister quits, says president blocked investigation". Reuters. Archived from the original on October 31, 2017. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
  13. ^ "Statement of Resignation by Justice Minister Christiana Tah (Full Text )". Daily Observer. October 6, 2014. Archived from the original on October 29, 2020.
  14. ^ "Judge Dismiesses Motion to REturn Koreans' Property". Monrovia Inquirer. September 1, 2014. Archived from the original on November 11, 2017. Retrieved November 10, 2017.
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