Ex-FIA Boss Stanley S. Ford Rejects US$6.2M Corruption Charges in Court

Monrovia,Liberia: Former Director General of the Financial Intelligence Agency (FIA), Stanley S. Ford, has rejected allegations linking him to a US$6.2 million corruption scheme, delivering a strong defense as he testified in Criminal Court “C” on Wednesday.

Ford appeared as the defense’s second witness in the ongoing high-profile trial involving former Finance Minister Samuel D. Tweah and several other government officials. The defendants face multiple charges, including economic sabotage, money laundering, theft of public funds, misuse of public office, and criminal conspiracy.

Taking the stand, Ford directly challenged a central claim by state prosecutors that a July 2023 communication from former National Security Advisor Jefferson Karmoh constituted formal admission of the FIA into the National Joint Security (NJS) framework.

According to Ford, the communication did not authorize such admission but instead assigned the FIA a communication code “800” strictly for operational coordination with other security institutions.

“An apparatus is not an organization,” Ford told the court, emphasizing the distinction between access to security infrastructure and formal institutional membership. He explained that the designation allowed the FIA to integrate into secure communication systems, including the use of equipment, identification badges, and internal coding, but did not confer legal membership or expanded authority within the Joint Security structure.

Ford further argued that under Liberia’s National Security Act, any formal inclusion of an agency into the National Joint Security Council would require explicit authorization from the Minister of Justice, who chairs the body. He maintained that no such authorization was granted.

Reading from the July 2023 letter, Ford pointed out that the wording referred to the FIA as part of the “national Joint Security apparatus,” which he said relates to systems and infrastructure rather than institutional status.

“This was about systems  secure communications and coordination. It was never an instrument of institutional admission,” he clarified.

The prosecution, however, has built its case around the claim that the FIA was unlawfully integrated into the Joint Security framework as part of a broader conspiracy to facilitate the movement of disputed funds.

Earlier testimony from Baba Mohammed Boika, an investigator with the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission, alleged that Karmoh acted unilaterally in admitting the FIA into the security structure without the required legal backing. Boika further claimed the move was intended to enable the use of FIA-controlled accounts to channel funds at the center of the case.

Ford is standing trial alongside Tweah, Karmoh, former Acting Justice Minister Nyanti Tuan, and former FIA Comptroller D. Moses P. Cooper. The case continues as the court hears further testimony in what is shaping up to be one of Liberia’s most closely watched corruption trials.