By Francis H. Murray
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has filed an indictment against three officials of the National Revenue Authority (NRA) for allegedly misappropriating public revenue worth over five billion leones (Le5bn).
The Commission, in a statement on Friday, said all three officials have been charged accordingly and were expected to be arraigned later this month.
All three of the accused worked in the Report Processing and Return Payment (RPRP) Department of the NRA.
According to the ACC, between March 2018 and September 2019, Abubakarr Sidikie Kamara, a former revenue officer, ‘‘misappropriated a total sum of Three Billion, Eighty-Eight Million, Eight Hundred and Seventy-Eight Thousand, Five Leones (Le3, 088,878,005) of Public Revenue,’’ which was foreign travel tax being paid by the airline, Royal Air Moroc, and foreign travel tax, paid by Euro World SL Ltd.
Kamara was charged with four counts of Misappropriation of Public Revenue.
Mariama Ballah Conteh, another revenue officer of the same department, is said to have misappropriated a total amount of One Billion, Seven Hundred and Twenty-Three Million, Eight Hundred and Fifty Nine Thousand, Six Hundred Leones (Le1, 723,859,600) of public revenue, being paid as foreign travel tax by Euro World SL Ltd.
ACC said Mariama misappropriated the money between March and May of 2018. She has been charged with three counts of misappropriation of public revenue.
The third accused official, Jeneba Sesay, also another staff in the same department at the NRA, is accused of misappropriating public revenue amounting to Five Hundred and Seventy Million, Two Hundred and Seven Thousand Leones (Le570, 207,000), being money paid as foreign travel tax by Euro World SL Ltd.
She faces one count charge of misappropriation of public revenue.
All three officials are expected to appear at the High Court on the 24th February this year.
ACC vowed in the statement to curb corruption in institutions like the NRA.
ACC Commissioner, Francis Ben Kaifala, twitter about the indictment, revealing that the first accused, Abubakarr Sidikie Kamara, who was found to have been building three houses at once, has fled.
But Commissioner Kaifala said he would be tried in absentia, thanks to the recently amended ACC Act.
Copyright © 2020 Politico Online
