By Lewis S. Teh
Monrovia, April 17, 2026 — The Center for Transparency and Accountability in Liberia (CENTAL), an integrity body, has commended the Asset Recovery and Property Retrieval Taskforce (ARPRT) for indicting former officials, while urging stronger follow-through to recover stolen public assets and deliver verdicts.
In fulfillment of its mandate, the Taskforce Chairman, Cllr. Last week, Edwin Kla Martin unveiled a series of indictments against Madam Mawine Diggs, former Minister of Commerce and Industry (MOCI), and several other officials of the immediate past Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) government. The indictments stem from allegations of the diversion of approximately US$1.8 million in funds intended for a rural women empowerment program.
At a news conference on Thursday, CENTAL Executive Director Anderson D. Miamen welcomed the government’s financial backing of the Taskforce, which received $670,920 in 2024 — exceeding funding allocated to some older anti-graft bodies, including the Liberia Extractives Industries Transparency Initiative (LEITI), which received $625,383.
Miamen acknowledged that funding signals political will but stressed that indictments alone are insufficient. He argued that accountability requires outcomes and that trials must be conducted swiftly and conclude with clear verdicts, guilty or not guilty, for the fight against corruption to carry meaningful weight.
The ARPRT is mandated to collaborate with state agencies and foreign partners to identify and repatriate stolen funds and properties held both domestically and overseas. Miamen called for broader systemic reforms, urging the government to establish a Specialized Anti-Corruption Court, remove the five-year statute of limitations on corruption cases, and direct the judiciary to prioritize such proceedings.
“The Government of Liberia must show greater commitment in establishing the Specialized Anti-Corruption Court to help timely adjudicate corruption cases and hold corrupt persons accountable,” Miamen said. “This will help to timely adjudicate corruption and other related cases, including those being pursued by the Asset Recovery and Property Retrieval Task Force.”
He further called for the removal of the statute of limitations, stating: “We also call for the removal of the five-year statute of limitation affecting the prosecution of corruption cases, to address the slow pace of the recovery of stolen financial and non-financial assets in Liberia.”
He cautioned the judiciary to prioritize corruption cases as a strong deterrent, protecting public resources and ensuring full accountability for corrupt individuals, groups, and institutions.
Miamen also recommended that the government sustain its integrity institutions, including the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC), the General Auditing Commission (GAC), the Public Procurement and Concessions Commission (PPCC), and the ARPRT, providing them with adequate financing, logistical support, and moral backing to safeguard public resources.
CENTAL noted that Liberians are “tired and disappointed” to see public officials amass ill-gotten wealth that sometimes exceeds entire institutional budgets. The organization emphasized that public interest must remain the top priority of leadership and democratic governance.
The CENTAL statement reinforces growing calls for tangible results in Liberia’s anti-corruption drive, linking judicial efficiency and asset retrieval directly to the restoration of public trust.
