Liberia’s central bank says all ‘missing’ banknotes are accounted for

The Central Bank of Liberia has denied any banknotes printed between 2016 and 2018 are missing, refuting claims it had any role in a recent corruption scandal.

In a statement published on October 2, the central bank says the total amount of money printed and placed in the reserve vaults of the central bank during the period under review was L$15.5 billion.

“This amount was verified from the CBL’s own internal documents and documents received from the Crane Currency of Sweden (contracted printer),” says Nathaniel Patray, the governor of the central bank.

Patray has asked for the travel restrictions currently placed upon staff at the central bank to be lifted. The restrictions were imposed by the government when it appeared a shipment of notes was unaccounted for.

The announcement comes at the end of the central bank’s own internal investigation into currency printing, which began after allegations of corruption surfaced.

Former senior members of staff at the central bank, including former governor Milton Weeks, were indicted during the probe, which concerned a missing shipping container alleged to hold newly printed banknotes. They were banned from leaving the country.

The notes, according to minister of information Eugene Nagbe, were ordered under the previous administration led by then-president Ellen Sirleaf.

However, according to the minister for information, when current president George Weah took office, he was not informed of the order, so when the currency entered the country, there was confusion over how much had been ordered.

Patray stresses no banknotes have gone missing. “The CBL has no records showing that monies printed under its authority have not yet been delivered into its reserve vaults,” the central bank says.

During the period of 2016 to 2018, Crane delivered L$15.5 billion through the Freeport of Monrovia and the Roberts International Airport.

Information on the progress of the government’s independent investigation is yet to be released, but the central bank believes the government is in the process of securing a “reputable international forensic audit firm” to conduct an audit of the print flows for the period under review.

“The CBL will co-operate with this investigation and avail all records in its posession to the investigation,” Patray says.

Staff at the central bank have been told to “make themselves available” to the country’s special investigative team when called upon.