By Alpha Abu
The Anti- Corruption Commission (ACC) has announced the detainment of some Sierra Leonean diplomats in the wake of investigations into issues surrounding “renovation or reconstruction’’ of the country’s Chancery building in New York in the United States.
Details of the identity of the officials detained have not been released by the commission but the statement confirmed the head of chancery was among those held since Friday 28 May 2021.
According to the ACC, these are people working at the Chancery considered to be key in the investigations and who have been recalled to assist the commission in the investigations.
The country’s anti-graft institution confirmed investigations focus over work on the Chancery property for which $4M was reportedly made available.
The commission is looking at the period 2011 to 2019 believed to be time of transfer of such money.
The ACC statement confirmed commencement of elaborate forensic investigations and of having recovered “documents and records’’ that it said were of relevance to the investigation and which were being examined by “forensic analysts’’.
The building in question is said to be in the Manhattan, one of the boroughs of New York City.
The Chancery investigation by the commission is the first full scale probe to be launched on any of the country’s foreign missions since Commissioner Ben Kaifala was appointed by President Julius Maada Bio in 2018.
The ACC boss has won accolades internationally for his efforts to combat corruption in the country. Sierra Leone’s global anti-corruption indices have improved considerably since then, and which became integral in country’s eligibility for the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) $400M grant by the United States government.
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