MONROVIA, Montserrado – On October 2, Nathaniel R. Patray, the executive governor of the Central Bank of Liberia, held a press conference where he said the Bank had concluded that no money went missing “as has been erroneously reported in the local media.”

Patray said the Central Bank had concluded its internal assessment of money printed and brought into the country between 2016 and 2018 and that “the Bank has no records showing that monies printed under its authority have not yet been delivered into its reserve vaults.”

According to him, records from the Swedish firm contracted to print the money, Crane, show that the company delivered L$15.5 billion through the Freeport of Monrovia and the Roberts International Airport between 2016 and 2018.

“All the monies were logged by the Bank and delivered into the reserve vaults,” he added.

Although the Central Bank had concluded its internal investigation, Patray suggested that the Bank still supported the ongoing investigation comprising of a variety of organizations.

“The CBL welcomes the establishment and expansion of the Special Investigative Team constituted by President Weah, which includes civil society groups, Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission, Financial Intelligence Unit, Joint Security Team, the Association of Certified Public Accountants, among others,” he said.

Patray said the Bank also welcomed the government’s decision to engage international partners such as the U.S. government, the African Union, ECOWAS, the U.N., and the International Monetary Fund.

“It is the Bank’s latest information that based on this engagement, the government and partners are in the process of securing the services of a reputable international forensic audit firm to conduct a forensic audit of all flows of printed money between 2016 and 2018,” he added.

Patray committed the Central Bank to cooperate with the investigation: “I confirmed that all employees of the Bank are committed to cooperating fully with the investigation and will continue to make themselves available whenever they are called upon.”

To avoid interrupting with the smooth operations of the Bank, Patray requested that the government remove the travel restriction on the Bank’s staff. A travel ban had been instituted against over 30 of the Central Bank’s staff.

Patray’s clarification that no money went missing comes a few days after the president returned to the country and delivered a speech that expressed a similar sentiment.

The Central Bank’s press conference was notable in that it did not allow journalists to ask questions, and several issues remain unresolved.

Attention over the missing money has been shifting from the currencies brought into the country to questions about how the US$25 million was infused into the economy in July 2018 to help stabilize the exchange rate. There have been unsubstantiated rumors of improprieties with how the money was used.

Moreover, the Central Bank did not address unverified reports by FrontPage Africa that its account with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York had been frozen because of the scandal.

When The Bush Chicken reached out to the Federal Reserve, officials there said they could not comment on customer accounts.

Another issue the Central Bank was silent on was Information Minister Eugene Nagbe’s appearance on ELBC Radio on September 18 where he noted that money had been printed in China and Lebanon, in addition to Sweden. Patray made no mention of money that was printed in the other two countries.

Featured photo by Zeze Ballah