— Following New GAC US$5.6 Million Budget Irregularities at MFDP During Tenure
IPNEWS: Former Liberian Finance Minister Samuel Tweah faces a renewed risk of legal trouble and potential rearrest following a new General Auditing Commission (GAC) audit report exposing major budget irregularities during his tenure.
The GAC audit specifically flags US$5.6 million in financial irregularities at the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP).
According to the GAC’s audit findings, the MFDP under Tweah’s administration engaged in unauthorized fiscal maneuvers.
The Ministry unauthorizedly disbursed US$52.8 million in excess of the approved national budget limits to various government agencies—including the Ministries of Public Works and Labor, the Liberia Airport Authority, and the Bureau of Concessions—without legislative or supplementary budget approval.
A specific sum of US$2.8 million remains entirely unaccounted for. When questioned, current or past MFDP management shifted the blame to “archiving and document retrieval challenges,” raising massive transparency concerns.
The Budget Transfer Act requires rigorous written requests, assessments, and legislative consent before reallocating state funds. The GAC report indicates these statutory procedures were bypassed, with millions moved unilaterally.
This fresh GAC audit lands at a highly volatile time for Tweah’s legal defense.
On May 8, 2026, Tweah was initially acquitted of economic sabotage, theft, and money laundering involving a separate US$6.2 million transfer.
In July 2026, Criminal Court “C” Judge Ousman F. Feika declared a mistrial and threw out Tweah’s acquittal. An intensive investigation revealed gross jury tampering, including confessions from jurors who illegally held cell phones and received outside texts and bribes during isolation. 15 jurors and court staff were arrested. Because the original verdict was legally deemed “contaminated and tainted,” the court ordered a completely new trial.
With the court already ordering a retrial over the jury tampering scandal, the newly published GAC audit provides the prosecution with strong, fresh evidence of systemic budget tampering and unauthorized spending.
Tweah and his legal team continue to dismiss the state’s multi-layered investigations as a politically motivated “witch-hunt” orchestrated by the administration. However, with these fresh, concrete audit numbers documented by the GAC, the Ministry of Justice holds the leverage to introduce new indictments, which carries a severe and immediate risk of another arrest warrant being issued against the former minister.
