By Politico staff writer
Justice Cosmotina Jarrett of the Freetown High Court on Friday 15 October 2021 convicted and sentenced Daniel Kapri Sesay, a former Mines Compliance Officer of the National Minerals Agency (NMA) over various corruption charges as levied by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
Serry was convicted after he pleaded guilty to accepting an advantage, contrary to Section 28 (2)(a) of the Anti-Corruption Act No. 12 of 2008 as amended by the Act No. of 2019. He was therefore ordered to pay a fine of Fifty Million Leones on or before the 30th November, 2021, or serve a jail term of five (5) years.
The ACC on the 26th August, 2021, indicted Serry on various corruption offences. According to the particulars of offence, on diverse dates between 1st and 28th February 2021,he peddled influence and accepted an advantage for himself in order to make use of his connections to obtain a benefit from a public body.
He was accused of accepting on diverse dates Five Thousand US Dollars (US$5,000), Two Thousand US Dollars (US$2,000) and Three Hundred US Dollars (US$300) for himself from businessmen Chi Clement and Simplice Bedy, in order to make use of his influence in facilitating the release and conveyance to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, of 15 Kilograms of gold valued at Three Hundred and Fifty Thousand US Dollars (US$350,000). A representative of the business firms who came to Freetown told journalists they never received the gold or retrieved their money.
The accused was also said to have accepted without lawful consideration an IPhone 11 to trace and apprehend one Fatmata Bomporo Sesay, a businesswoman involved in the sale of the said 15 Kilograms of gold. We couldn’t up to going to the time of going to press confirm whether Serry has paid the fine. NMA some months ago released a statement confirming the dismissal of Serry when news of his involvement in a plot to dupe some foreign business people emerged.
Copyright © Politico Online 19/10/21
