U.S. Lobbyists Terminate Government of Liberia Agreements Totaling $600,000 Per Year
Immediately following Globe Afrique’s expose of an alleged money laundering scheme under the pretext of foreign lobbying by Nathaniel McGill, Liberia’s Min. of Finance, Samuel Tweah, and the head of Liberia’s maritime, Lenn Eugene Nagbe, major U.S. lobbying firms immediately terminated their lobbying agreements totaling $600,000 per year with the Government of Liberia.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, On August 19, 2022, when Globe Afrique released its article, Carbon Thread (CT) Agency terminated its agreement with the Government of Liberia. Under the agreement, CT was expected to be paid $240,000 annually.
What’s more astonishing is the agreement was to promote the President of Liberia, George Weah, mainly through an effort to allow him to meet the President of the United States, President Joseph Biden.
The agreement was to remain active for three years – into 2024 – a full year after Liberia’s presidential election. However, under the alleged laundering scheme, the Ministry of Finance made an initial payment and reneged future payments while withdrawing the funds from the CBL for personal enrichment.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice website, On August 22, 2022, Strom Partners terminated its agreement with the Government of Liberia. In this agreement, on behalf of Bakari Sellers, Strom Partners would also be compensated $120,000 per year for three years.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice’s website, On August 22, 2022, Ice Miller also terminated its $300,000 per year agreement with the Government of Liberia. Again, this agreement was expected to run three years into 2024.
On July 20, 2022, amid a food crisis, the Government of Liberia, through the Minister of Finance, paid $474,950 thousand to Ballard Partners in one of the most outrageous lobbying contracts by a poor developing country handcuffed to an IMF program.
Globe Afrique will continue to follow this story and bring updates as the investigation continues.
