Sierra Leone News: ACC Indicts Five Officials over Misappropriation

By Stephen V. Lansana

The Anti-Corruption Commission on Monday September 23, 2019, filed an indictment against Stephen Yayah Mansaray, former Master and Registrar of the High Court of Sierra Leone; Richie Edwin Asgil, former principal accountant in the Judiciary; Adele Faya, former account clerk of the Judiciary; and Clarence Solomon Will, a legal assistant at a Law Firm in Freetown.

They are indicted on various counts of misappropriation of public funds, contrary to section 36(1); and Conspiracy to Commit a Corruption Offence, contrary to Section 128(1) of the Anti-Corruption Act 2008.

“Stephen Yayah Mansaray and Richie Edwin Asgil were the signatories to the Judiciary’s Master and Registrar’s account domiciled at the Bank of Sierra Leone. On diverse dates, between June 2014 and May 2018, both accused men, conspired with others to sign a number of cheques through which they authorized the withdrawal of funds from the aforementioned account for their personal benefit or for other unjustified purposes,” ACC said in a statement on Wednesday September 25, 2019. “Similarly, ADELE FAYA, former Account Clerk of the Judiciary, also instructed the encashment of various cheques from the same account, and misappropriated these monies.”

According to ACC, Clarence Solomon Will, a legal assistant at Bah & Co., a law firm in Freetown, on diverse dates between April 25, 2018, and March 14, 2019, conspired with unknown persons, to allegedly misappropriate public funds by illegally facilitating the encashment of cheques from the Judiciary’s account.

ACC disclosed that all four accused persons misappropriated the total sum of Le460,268,200 from the Judiciary’s Master & Registrar Account domiciled at the Bank of Sierra Leone.

All accused persons are expected to appear in the Freetown High Court on Monday September 30, 2019.