STATE MONEY THEFT- NOW ABASS DANCES WITH "SQUIRRILSATION"

WAS IT A CHEQUE OR WAS IT A BANKERS DRAFT - WHO CARES- JUST PAY BACK THE US$210,000 TO THE STATE

."......the matter was settled extra-judicially by way of an agreement between the parties. Under that agreement I was required to pay immediately US$105,000, being one-half of the total monies I received from a Mr. Frank Yiu,........."- Dr Abass Cherenor Bundu
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"Information at my disposal points to the fact that the cheque aforesaid was subsequently dishonoured upon instructions of the accused, Abass Bundu. I am also led to believe that the second tranche was likewise not paid, meaning that no payment of any part of the money was ever made” The letter states and went on, “Consequent upon the foregoing, Government proposes to institute both criminal and civil proceedings in court against the said Abass Bundu…A charge of conspiracy to defraud the Government of Sierra Leone is highly contemplated"...............Attorney General

After reading the bold Press statement by Dr Abass Cherenor Bundu, my mind buggles with a few questions regarding the "BOUNCED cheque (which he claimed did not materilised and yet the letter from the Artoney General mentioned it did) and the "Bankers Draft  which Abass claimed was used to pay the US$105,000 (and yet the Artoney General's letter states that NOTHING was paid to the Government.) WHERE DOSE THE TRUTH LIE?

QUESTIONS:
DID ABASS BUNDU HAVE IN HIS BANK BALANCE AT THE APPROPRIATE TIME - US$105,000?

DID ABBASS  ISSUE HIS PERSONAL CHEQUE, TO THE COURT (MAYBE THROUGH HIS THEN LAWYERS - (RENNER THOMAS &CO) TO GET THE SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT IN PLACE, KNOWING HE HAD NO SUCH AMOUNT IN HIS  BANK, BUT TO BUY TIME TO HUSSELL FOR THE CASH AND MAKE GOOD THE SETTLEMENT OF THIS IMMEDIATE BILL.(Remember! Abass was required to PAY IMMEDIATLY.) 

The[Attorney General's letter to Renner Thomas &Co] letter dated 27^th March, 2012 reads “…You would also recall forwarding a cheque for the sum of US$105,000.00 (One Hundred and Five Thousand United States Dollars) to my office on behalf of the said Abass Bundu as part payment of the sum of US$210,000.00 (Two Hundred and Ten Thousand Dollars) in full settlement of the matter]

 HAVING GOT THE AGREEMENT IN PLACE, DID  ABASS STOP THE INITIAL  CHEQUE FOR US$105,000 THAT WAS PAID TO THE COURT SO HE CAN FIND THE CASH AND PAY IT IN LIEU? (THE ARTONEY GENERAL'S LETTER STATED THE CHEQUED WAS "BOUNCED" I. E. DISHONOURED BY THE BANK "ON THE INSTRCTIONS OF THE ACCUSED ABASS BUNDU.)

HAVING THEN FOUND THE MONEY, (ABASS CLAIMED IN HIS PRESS CONFERENCE THAT A BANKERS DRAFT WAS THE INSTRUMENT OF PAYMENT OF THE REQUIRED US$105,000) DID ABASS THEN PURCHASED THIS BANKERS DRAFT WITH THE CASH 'OVERTHE COUNTER' ? OR, DID HE PAY THAT NEW MONEY INTO HIS BANK ACCOUNT TO ENABLE THE EQUIVILENT SUM TO BE DEBITED AND THE BANKERS DRAFT ISSUED -MAKING IT LOOK LIKE EVERY THING CAME THROUGH THE ACCOUNT?

IF CASH WAS PAID IN LIEU, FOR THE PURCHASE OF THE BANKERS DRAFT, THE TRANSACTION WILL NOT BE RECORDED IN THE ACCOUNT.  IF HOWEVER THE INITIAL CHEQUE WAS RETURNED UNPAID, I.E. "BOUNCED" THIS CAN CLEARLY BE REFLECTED IN THE ACCOUNT.

ABASS CLAIMED IN HIS PRESS CONFERENCE..:

"...In the circumstances, therefore, I had no choice but to pay under protest. The letter from my Solicitors, dated 12 September 1996, which accompanied the payment, made the point that I had agreed to pay only to underscore the contention that I had had absolutely no criminal intent whatsoever in all my dealings, official or private, with Mr. Frank Yiu.

Upon this understanding the Government duly received, by way of a Bank Draft, the sum of US$105,000. So, again, contrary to widespread speculation in the Press, I did not issue a personal cheque to the Government which subsequently bounced..."

 
Artoney General says
 "...Information at my disposal points to the fact that the cheque aforesaid was subsequently dishonoured upon instructions of the accused, Abass Bundu."

 IT WOULD APPEAR THAT A CHEQUE WAS ISSUED, THEN STOPPED, TO BE REPLACED BY A BANKERS DRAFT WHICH WAS NOT PRESENTED FOR PAYMENT  OR A DEAL WAS REACHED IN SOME WAY RESULTING IN THE FACT THAT NOTHING WAS ACTUALLY PAID IN SETTLEMENT OF THGE US $ 210,000.

IF A BANKERS DRAFT WAS ISSUED , PRESENTED AND CLEARED, THE RECORDS OF THE BANK, THE COURT RECORDS , ABASS'S ACCOUNT & BANK STATEMENTS ARE ALL TO BE EXAMINED

ONE WAY OR THE OTHER, THIS CAN EASILY BE VERIFIED AND CLARIFIED - FIND THE CLEARED BANKERS DRAFT.


PLEASE CLICK AND READ THE TWO LINKS BELOW

  :
http://www.sierraconnection.com/



http://standardtimespress.org/?p=1867


http://news.sl/drwebsite/exec/view.cgi?archive=2&num=1123

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06/04/2012
SO The payment was by a personal cheque. Is ABASS A LIER AS  WELL?

Update from Standar Times

PLEASE ENJOY THIS

Whether it was a plea-bargain or for political reason Dr. Bundu must explain

Mr. Kalilu .I. Totangi should not have been the right person to defend the Passport Mafia, Dr. Abass Bundu. Whatever syllogism or hypothetical statement he uses or legal loophole to save the skin of his counterpart he would not win. Of course, one would understand why Kalilu .I.Totangi is playing the role of a Defence Attorney on the platform of the “Pious Foray Court” that is appreciated by less than five hundred readers, which does not go beyond Waterloo where Pious Foray has opened another Cookery Shop to attract young girls along the New Freetown-Waterloo Road.



For those who may know the author of that piece ‘Beware The Antics of Yellow Journalists And Their Desperate Political Paymasters” published in the Democrat of 2^nd April, 2012 edition on page 6 he is not different from Dr. Abass Bundu in a number of ways. Journalists who went through the funded UNDP Communication Strategy Training to become Information Officers can still recalled how funds provided by UNDP was embezzled, misappropriated and wrongly utilized by Kalilu .I.Totangi when he was in charge of the programme. The unfortunate situation and unpatriotic action of this individual who ran away from the United States of America caused the collapse of such a brilliant and rewarding programme. Those Journalists who should have benefitted from the programme ended up being displaced and unemployed.

This is the Defence Attorney of Dr Abass Bundu, as the saying goes “Anvil of identical plumage converge excessively” Since he was shown the exit doors of the Ministry of Information and Communication during the tenure of Professor Septimus Kaikai, even Hon. I.B.Kargbo has refused to countenance his talent or contribution to any donor funded project for fear that history will repeat itself. “It was the same antics that were applied in 2007, when a notorious blackmail journalist published a lie that the Government of Tejan Kabbah had sold Libyan rice and pocketed the money…” wrote Kalilu I.Totangi the embezzler of donor fund. Perhaps, additional information about the Libyan rice would keep him quiet and come to the realization that “There are Journalists and there are Journalists’ the other shipload of Libyan rice was sold in Ghana and bought by a very wealthy Lebanese Businessman (name withheld), who was a close friend of ex-President Tejan Kabbah. This Lebanese businessman owns huge buildings in Freetown- Sierra Leone and one of it was bought by NASSIT that is currently utilized by the institution as its Head Office.

The Libyan rice is now history, but if Kalilu I.Totangi wants it discussed for the second time it would not be to his advantage or his political party. There are pieces of evidence in the possession of this press, which are very pertinent to the story. Evidence bearing the signature of the former Attorney General, Mr. Fred Carew who forced a retraction to be published with threat of sending the editorial team to jail if the condition is not fulfilled is still available with this press. Coming to the Dr. Abass Bundu Passport case that is hanging over his head, Kalilu I.Totangi whose new role is a self appointed Defence Attorney has failed to recognize the fact that it is not a hard and fast rule for the action of one government to be complied by the other. If Dr. Abass Bundu was absolved of any wrong doing by the Kabbah-led SLPP government why was he not acquitted and discharged and a certificate issued to him by the Court? At the Criminal Investigation Department(CID) where statement was obtained from him two days back he admitted receiving money from Frank Yiu and claimed that it was a personal donation to his electioneering campaign, which sounds ridiculous and a provocation to the intelligence of Sierra Leoneans.

He told Detectives that he was acquitted in the matter. Acquittal alone is not sufficient to walk the streets of Freetown as a free man or a discharge. Both should be secured in any criminal matter, therefore if Dr. Abass Bundu has confirmed that he was only discharged from court, which means that he could be called upon again when fresh evidence emerges.

A plea-bargain; which Dr. Abass Bundu fully knows about is a guilty verdict. What it does, is that it prevents the herculean task of going into a full blown trial, but does not exclude the penalty and punishment, because it takes into account time, Judges and Magistrates could be lenient. It is an out of Court arrangement between the Prosecutor and Defence on behalf of a client. Dr. Abass Bundu may have entered into a plea bargain with the then Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Hon. Solomon Ekuma Berewa, or his lawyers did that on his behalf and agreed to refund monies collected from Frank Yiu. This was done against the background of not going to the open Court to be prosecuted, where evidence would be adduced in Court. It is not known what the line of argument or defence is, by the self appointed Defence Attorney. The action of Government is neither a witch-hunt nor a political victimization, but a demand to account of his stewardship regarding those Passports he collected monies from the appointed agent that he should refund to the people and Government what rightly belongs to them.

It is absurd for Kalilu I.Totangi to make a “no case submission” on behalf of Dr. Abass Bundu when he knows that there are substantial and circumstantial evidence against him. Regarding the payment of US$105,000 that he argued was honoured by a bank draft. It would surprise him to know that it was not a bank draft but a cheque that should be withdrawn from his London Bank Account. A copy of the Cheque was shown to Journalists at the office of the then Attorney General and Minister of Justice during a Press Conference when Hon. Solomon Berewa told Pressmen that Dr. Bundu has given an indication to pay and produced a copy of the Cheque that he paid to Government. One weighs the argument of Kalilu I.Totangi as fluid and lacks the ingredients of a good Defence Attorney. He will have to hold further consultations with his client, if he is to pursue the matter, if not he would end up crashing at the wide gates of the Law Court Building when the matter kicks up for hearing.

The letter from the late Fred Carew that Kalilu I.Totangi is waving on the faces of those who are not aufait with the procedures of criminal cases and also which he himself cannot fully comprehend and assimilate did not state that the matter has been nullified. In another words, the letter is not a nolle prosequi, which powers rest in the hands of the Attorney General or the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), even with that; an incoming Government has the power to recommence proceedings if it choose to do so pending the gravity of evidence available.

IS JULIUS MAADA BIO A STATE MONEY THIEF? 2

AFTER  ABASS BUNDU- WHO NEXT IN THIS SQUERRELGATE AFFAIR ?

                                                       

We need a leader who teaches our youth honesty... we [Bio's proposed SLPP led Government come November 2012] will not engage in dubious contracts to fleece this country and squirrel the loot away in foreign bank accounts"- JULIUS MAADA BIO IN HIS MAIDEN SPEECH (September 2011)                                            Dr Bylden has again provided us with food for thought. Who would have thought that Dr Abass Chernor Bundu, former Secretary General of the Economic States of West Africa (ECOWAS) would this day be in the disgraceful position he finds himself. Before he left The Commonwealth Institute in the early 1980s where he served as Administrative Director?? Abass was the President of the APC UK and Ireland Branch and also President of the  SIERRA LEONEAN (UK)  STUDENTS' Union. Both bodies saw their own under his service until Dr. Siaka Stevens stepped in . The demise of the Students Union was laid. In 1982 we revitalised the work of the Party in the UK with me as President of the UK Branch and Chairman of London Unit, until the 1992 coup by NPRC. This put paid to the Party's operations until late 1990s when the rebel war began to cool off. Abass went home  "to serve [his] country" But oh ya! all we have had for several years -beyond the nine years of this Passport saga is dismantlement surrounding his sincerity, role as a leader, and honesty in matters relating to serving his country. He appears to have served every government since he left the Commonwealth Secretarial job 1982: at one time, playing combining roles as a member of the Sierra Leone Parliament, and as Secretary General of ECOAWS. I hasten to say, with no less controversy than the rest of his politics- always forging ahead with an air of bravery, boldness and a determination to defend himself under the guidance of THE LAW, even if and when he he certainly and clearly culpable.  Abass is a cleaver man: he was one of the Officials who went along to 'fix' the Constitution of the country- Bellies. He was one of the Officials who dealt with the troubles of Uganda - during the post Amin/Obote/Pre Mussiveni years.  So, why would Sierra Leoneans not expect  good from a cleaver constitutional lawyer like him. He did not only earned his legal ducation in the UK but also in Australia; so he was already internationally exposed at an early age. Why should he be doubted to give leadership to his people? Remember, he went home 'to serve his people"  But, Oh ya! Abass has failed me in many respect!! Why? My friend nor de satisfy! For over 9 years I stayed away from making ant commentary about Abass. His engagement with the NPRC was a matter of personal choice especially when close colleagues with whom he worked in the APC before the coup fled for their lives and had been killed. 'HE IS A MAN OF THE CONSTITUTION' and yet engages himself by serving as Foreign Minister in an illegitimate , treasonable "Boy sojas' Millitary Junta. SHOKING!! But again- Abbass had gone home "to serve his country'. How brave! How bold!. Should we believe Dr. Bundu in his cry for mercy at this ninth hour? Should we see him as a man 'exonorated??? or is it "helped" by the  Ahamed Tejan Kabba Government, which did not allow TRIAL for "THEFT" yes "THEFT" ( well,  OK - Larceny) not to go to TRIAL. So they compromised under a meeting of the heads (Pa Shaki kul am eng ade) not to let BIG MAN GO JAIL!!!! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!.  You see cleverness!! This how it works.  So now, Abass feel confident, bold, brave, to call a Press Conference to "Tell the Truth". So that we all can clear the air, and allow restoration of his dignified image: and in fact, he will not bother to claim restoration of the agreed payment of $105,000 he was 'forced'? to pay back to the  state? because he is so rich now, he does not even need the money: and he believes or pretend to believe that he has the legal right to sue the state to court! Well, I wonder!   I  truly wonder what Pa Kabba feels right now? I deeply wonder what the NPRC Attorney General at the time feels right now? I just wonder what the Chief Justice at the time feels right now? after hearing or reading this comical explanation Abass give to the Press. Sometimes, cleverness could be inimical to the individual...  You see, in UK now, the double jeopardy rules have been changed. Here, cases can be re-opened and suspected criminals can be re-called to court.  This confession by Abass is very intriguing but meaningful. In fact, it is a very helpful statement on two main grounds: First, Abass wants to turn ''a new leaf''. (Or is he?) I welcome that and I am sure a good many Sierra Leoneans would welcome that too.  The Good book preaches REPENTANCE and there is nothing short of a HUMBLE repentance. But, when Repentance is warped up in the clock of pomposity, pig headedness, clouded by a pretence of boldness and verbosity, I do not believe such repentance is worth the paper it is written in, nor that it flows smoothly from the heart of the Repenter: I do not believe the Repentee(s) to whom it is directed, will receive it with open and gladsome heart which in the end, renders such act of bravery worthless, vile and insulting to the people whom the actor wants to impress!! Secondly, Abass's confession (or repentance) will aid the shifting the "chaff from the grain."  We begin to know the true players and their part in this "boy soja" period and game of "WINNIMALOSY " in Offshore Investment Banks. We have started to see WHO IS WHOM! and what role each played. It may take a long while yet; but the road is open and the TRAFFIC HAS BEGAN TO FLOW. A word for the wise - COME OUT NOW BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE!! Please read Abass Bundu's Press statement below PRESS STATEMENT IN SIERRA LEONE BY DR. ABASS CHERNOR BUNDU REGARDING THE IMMIGRATION INVESTMENT PROGRAMME AND HIS PROSECUTION FOR LARCENY IN 1996 By Abass Bundu Dec 12, 2005, 20:08   Members of the Press, Ladies and Gentlemen: It is my pleasure to welcome you all to this my first Press briefing since I returned home in August last year. I have invited you here today in order to set the record straight on a matter of great public importance, a matter that has been in the public domain for the past nine years. It is the matter of the Immigration Investment Programme (IIP), generally dubbed by the Press as the “Passport Saga”, and my prosecution for larceny in 1996. During the past nine years, much has been written and said about the IIP. I have never been able to get the Press away from harping on what has been perceived as the greatest scandal ever to be associated with our country’s passports. Almost every public mention of my name was viewed in some quarters of the Press as offering an opportunity to remind their readers about the scandal. For others it triggered an invocation of derision. In short, my name became synonymous with the alleged “illegal” sale of Sierra Leone passports in Hong Kong. Only a few publications resisted the temptation of employing defamatory language. Some even went to the extent of insinuating guilt and of wishing to see me put behind bars. I blame no one for this. Most of these publications were more a function of the dynamics of the moment than a deliberate attempt to slur. All I ask now is for the record to be set right so that the general public can get to know the truth. 1996, the year I was arraigned for larceny, should be noted as a particularly difficult period. The brutal war, unleashed by the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) in 1991, was then ravaging the country, leaving in its trail despicable and unfathomable atrocities, having no parallel in the country’s history. Freetown, which hitherto had escaped the ravages of the war, was rapidly becoming enveloped in a frenzy of anxiety as nervous residents in the outskirts came increasingly under serious threat. Fear and anxiety thus became the order of the day, and lurking just beneath the surface was generalized disaffection for the NPRC junta, which had then failed to make good its promise to rid the country of the rebel war; it had also failed in its desperate bid to succeed itself in office. It was against this backdrop that the new SLPP Government acceded to office in May 1996. The public was demanding vigorous action against corruption and more particularly against rampant allegations of sleaze on the part of the NPRC and their associates. I had served in the NPRC Government as Foreign Secretary for 18 months from November 1993. Even though I had resigned in July 1995 to form my own party, the People’s Progressive Party, and to become its flag bearer for the 1996 Elections, my name continued to be associated with the NPRC. Whatever public opprobrium was reserved for them, it rubbed off on me too. Neither did my outspokenness about the 1996 Elections help matters. On the contrary, it raised my profile and made me stand out as a visible target. And that probably contributed to the circumstances leading to my prosecution in July 1996. The case never actually went to trial. Contrary to Press reports, there was no guilty verdict nor was I sentenced to pay a fine by any Court. Instead, the matter was settled extra-judicially by way of an agreement between the parties. Under that agreement I was required to pay immediately US$105,000, being one-half of the total monies I received from a Mr. Frank Yiu, who was then the Contractor responsible for the execution of the IIP in Hong Kong. The other half (US$105,000) was to be paid later. The assumption the Prosecution made in preferring those charges against me, was that the monies I received had come directly from the IIP; in other words that they were funds belonging to the Government of Sierra Leone which I had compelled Frank Yiu to part with. The key question is: Was the money Government money? I had argued vigorously that the funds were not Government funds. Neither did I at any stage seek to pressurize Mr. Yiu into giving me Government money. I argued, though unsuccessfully, that Mr. Yiu had led me to believe that his contributions to my electioneering campaign fund (totalling US$210,000) came from his private business interests in Hong Kong and worldwide, including South America. I spent all the monies he contributed on my election campaign in 1996 including the purchase of vehicles for travelling in the country, rent for buildings for temporary campaign offices, and on the usual electioneering expenses. Nothing was done that was contrary to law. The fact that Frank Yiu’s contributions did not come from the proceeds of passport sales is plain from his letter to me of 29 March 1995 regarding the means by which the donations would be made by his brother. That letter reads in part: “In addition, please be noted [sic] that I have a personal arrangement with you in US Dollars for TT to London will be done in between April and May, and which will be done by my brother from S. America.” It was solely on this assurance that I had agreed to accept his donations to my campaign. However, I must admit that I had difficulty proving conclusively that the funds I had received from Mr. Yiu had indeed come from sources other than the IIP. I had only his letter of 29 March to show and this was not adequate. New and more convincing evidence was needed. In the circumstances, therefore, I had no choice but to pay under protest. The letter from my Solicitors, dated 12 September 1996, which accompanied the payment, made the point that I had agreed to pay only to underscore the contention that I had had absolutely no criminal intent whatsoever in all my dealings, official or private, with Mr. Frank Yiu. Upon this understanding the Government duly received, by way of a Bank Draft, the sum of US$105,000. So, again, contrary to widespread speculation in the Press, I did not issue a personal cheque to the Government which subsequently bounced. Relationship with Frank Yiu  You might wonder what my relationship with Mr. Frank Yiu was. Why was he ready to give me so much money? Well, let us remember that Mr. Yiu was a prominent businessman in Hong Kong. He had investments worldwide. He also had businesses here in Freetown as well as business associates. I first met him in March 1994 when he visited Freetown for an official briefing. Our second meeting took place in August 1994 when he told me that he had been informed by his business associates about my plans to run for president. He said from what he had been told, he had come to develop respect for my leadership qualities and would like to be associated with my political plans. He also said he was particularly impressed by my desire to forge closer links with the tiger economies of South-East Asia as a possible source of new investment capital for Sierra Leone and asked to be made a key player in that project if I won the presidency. He further explained that although he was not a rich man, he was not without substantial investments in Hong Kong, China and South America, and that his passport business with Sierra Leone constituted only a fraction of his overall business. He then offered to finance my campaign. In the process he made several contributions, all totalling US$210,000. The new evidence  The new conclusive evidence I needed to prove that the funds from Frank Yiu were not Government funds did not come to hand until 1997. Although the documents containing that evidence had been sent to the then Government since early 1996, I did not get to know about them until 1997. This evidence is in the form of two Financial Statements on the IIP that Frank Yiu submitted to the Government on 31 January and 7 February 1996 respectively. They provided the evidence I sought all along. Even though the Financial Statements were addressed to the Director-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, I did not know they existed. This was because at that point in time I was no longer with the NPRC Government, having resigned from that Government on 14 July 1995. Nor did I know of their existence when I was charged to Court in July 1996. So I could not use them to defend myself at that most crucial moment.  As you will have deduced, monies did change hands in Hong Kong and other places for Sierra Leone passports. Whether we call it a “sale” of passports or a “fee” for administration is really immaterial. The practice of charging some money for new passports or for the renewal of old passports is unexceptional and is indeed universal. Every country in the world demands some sort of payment. Rather what are of great significance are the following three questions: First, who “sold” the passports? Second, why were they sold? And third, what were the proceeds used for? Let me now deal with each of these questions in turn. First, who sold the passports?  Well, again contrary to Press speculations over the past nine years, the passports involved in my case were all sold by the Government of Sierra Leone. The Immigration Investment Programme (IIP), under which passport were sold, had been adopted as State policy by the Government of President Momoh in early 1992. The NPRC Government maintained it after it overthrew President Momoh in April 1992. For national security reasons, and, as will be elaborated later, because of the purpose for which it was conceived, the IIP was operated in the utmost secrecy by both Governments. The public was never informed and they had good reason for that.  Thus seen, the IIP was put in place long before I joined the NPRC Government as Foreign Minister in November 1993. I neither ran the Programme nor had primary responsibility for it. The only major thing I did was to introduce some changes in the implementation of the Programme when I became Foreign Minister. I transferred responsibility for the custody of the passports from Mr. Frank Yiu to a Sierra Leonean indigene, Mr. Sahr Johnny, whom the NPRC Government appointed as Consul-General in Hong Kong and established there a Consulate-General. Frank Yiu was appointed as an Adviser to the Consul-General.  The Programme was based in Hong Kong for a simple reason. Britain’s lease over Hong Kong was about to expire. The citizens of Hong Kong were getting nervous about the future of the Territory once it changed hands from Britain to China, and naturally they were concerned also about their own future. A large number of them decided to emigrate. The wealthy among them were offered citizenship by developed countries such as the UK, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, etc. The less wealthy ones sought refuge in other parts of the world, including Africa. In Sierra Leone the Government adopted the IIP. It was aimed at the citizens of Hong Kong who wished to emigrate. For a fee they were offered naturalization and a passport to go with it. They were required to come to Sierra Leone with their wealth and expertise to invest in small-scale industries in order to boost our industrialization programme. So the IIP aimed at achieving two objectives: to attract foreign investors into Sierra Leone and to raise much needed revenue for the country. Why were the passports sold? The plain truth is that the passports were sold to raise money for the prosecution of the war against the RUF rebels. The whole world knew that Sierra Leone was fighting a war against the RUF insurgents. But the IMF, which was a major contributor to the national budget, was not happy that the Government was using the budget to fight the war. It therefore imposed a conditionality. It said that the Government must not use the budget and the support the IMF was providing, to fight the rebel war. Faced with this conditionality, the Government found itself in a serious dilemma: either it used the budget to fight the war and lose the support of the IMF or find new extra-budgetary avenues to raise money. Either way, it could not risk losing the war to the RUF, for the consequences were just too grave to contemplate. So the Government was compelled to look at extra-budgetary avenues to raise money for the prosecution of the war. And the main avenue it found was the “sale” of Sierra Leone passports in Hong Kong and elsewhere. And, as already stated, this sale had started as far back as early 1992. What were the proceeds of passport sales used for? As will be seen from the evidence provided by Mr. Yiu in his Financial Statements, the total income earned from the IIP up to the end of 1995 amounted to US$5,640,890.00 while total expenditures made on behalf of the Government stood at US$6,909,683.78. The deficit of US$1,268,793.78 was financed by way of a loan from Frank Yiu to the Government, using the passports as collateral. These entire funds were disbursed as directed by the NPRC leadership for the purchase of arms and ammunition and other sinews for the prosecution of the war. The next question one might ask is why did I not say all this before, especially when I was charged to court for offences I knew I did not commit?  The answer is two-fold. First I did not have this evidence then. I did not even know it existed. Second, there was no way I could have mounted a defence against the charges without divulging information that was guarded by the State as “top secret”. Imagine if I had gone into the witness box and stated in my evidence in chief that the Government did not have the financial capacity to prosecute the war against the RUF and that it had to depend on the sale of Sierra Leone passports to raise money for that purpose, and that information had got to the knowledge of the RUF while the war was still raging in 1996. Imagine also that the RUF became energized as a result of this disclosure and decided to take Freetown by force. What would have been my fate and that of my family in the hands of the residents of Freetown when they come to know and believe that my disclosures were responsible for energizing the RUF to venture to take the city? It takes little imagination to know what our fate would have been. Remember what happened to the many unfortunate victims whose only crime was that they were suspected, merely suspected, rightly or wrongly, of collaborating with the enemy!  In the circumstances, I opted to protect the State by guarding its secrets. At the same time I also protected the lives of myself and my family by agreeing to the out-of-court settlement mentioned earlier rather than risk making such disclosures at a trial. In the process, I have suffered socially in that I have had to live with the social stigma that the Indictment visited upon me over the past nine years. I also suffered financially in that I had to part with US$105,000. When subsequently new evidence came to hand, represented by the Financial Statements of Frank Yiu, I took immediate steps to bring them to the attention of the Government. On 28 September 2005, a meeting was held with the Honourable Vice-President, in the presence of the current Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, where the exonerative value of the new evidence was accepted. This was followed by an exchange of letters between my humble self and the Honourable Attorney-General dated 30 September and 7 October 2005 respectively. At long last, after nine painful years, the truth about the passport saga has prevailed. And I hope, from now on, my good name, character and reputation will be restored. I wish to take this opportunity, therefore, to record my deep appreciation to President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah and Vice-President Solomon Berewa for agreeing to accept the new exonerative evidence which in turn will facilitate the restoration of my good name. Such happenings are indeed very rare in Africa. The exoneration is that if, as alleged in the Indictment, it was true I had forced Frank Yiu to part with monies he was holding for the Government, nothing had prevented him from disclosing that fact in his Financial Statements. The fact is that he did not. And that is sufficient evidence to show that the monies he provided to my electioneering campaign fund did not come from the IIP.  What this also means is that it is open to me to claim from the Government a refund of the amount of US$105,000 I paid in 1996. Although it is my legal right so to do, I have been persuaded for a variety of reasons not to pursue that claim. I have agreed, not because I did not need the money – of course I do – but simply because I consider the vindication of my good name and reputation as far more important to me and my family. I thank you, Ladies and Gentlemen, for your kind attention. It is my fervent hope that, with this new development, this matter of the so-called “Passport Saga” will be allowed to rest for good. And if you have published before based on rumours and hearsay resulting in tainting my character reputation, I bear you no grudge. All I ask now is that you be good enough to consider it your professional duty to make amends and repair the damage. *************************************************************************************************** http://www.cocorioko.net/?p=25819 Mother-of-all-corruption exposed in Sierra Leone by Ex-President Kabbah : Maada Bio, Strasser and Abbass Bundu should have been behind bars ! ! ! ****************************************************************************************************** Sierra Leone Opposition Party Embroiled in Squirrelgate Scandal over Passport Sale By SYLVIA OLAYINKA BLYDEN & HER TEAM Mar 30, 2012, 21:21

The main opposition Sierra Leone Peoples Party (SLPP) is currently embroiled in what is turning out to be the biggest political corruption scandal to hit Sierra Leone this century. The scandal has been dubbed as the SQUIRRELGATE.

"We need a leader who teaches our youth honesty... we [Bio’s proposed SLPP led Government come November 2012]will not engage in dubious contracts to fleece this country and squirrel the loot away in foreign bank accounts". - JULIUS MAADA BIO IN HIS MAIDEN SPEECH (September 2011)

The Green NPRC-SLPP Squirrel

The quote above is relevant to the ongoing saga. The scandal has been dubbed the Squirrelgate scandal in honour of the above words from the mouth of Julius Maada Bio, the SLPP’s presidential candidate who was also the Deputy Chairman in the NPRC military junta which governed Sierra Leone from 1992 to 1993 to 1994 to 1995 to 1996.

In his first address to the voting public upon his election as SLPP presidential candidate, Bio spoke of criminals fleecing from the State to "squirrel" such funds in foreign bank accounts. The Squirrelgate Scandal concerns squirreling of our country’s money into NPRC junta pockets and foreign bank accounts over a prolonged period spanning years.

We are publishing copies of three of the numerous documents currently in our possession. The first one is the authenticated, signed and stamped Statement of Disbursement of Funds directly to certain individuals or their proxies.

The second is a sworn statement from Hong Kong citizen Frank Yiu saying that he personally handed over US$50,000 in cash [from the sale of our country’s passports] to the then newly sworn in Deputy NPRC Chairman Julius Maada Bio in June 1993. It is interesting to note that this was the month in which late SAJ Musa was cleverly manipulated out of office and replaced by Bio. All information currently in possession of the investigators show SAJ Musa was never involved in the scam to squirrel our country’s money. His name appears nowhere in the Statement of Disbursement of Funds.

Strasser was involved. According to documents in our possession, Strasser collected US$200,000 in cash from the proceeds of the passport sales during the time SAJ Musa was still his deputy. However, no evidence exists that SAJ Musa ever collected money from Frank Yiu. Until this day, no one has been able to give a credible explanation as to why SAJ Musa was forced out of the country and replaced with Bio. How come Bio received US$50,000 immediately SAJ Musa was forced out? SAJ Musa was known to be a strict disciplinarian but whether he was prone to be corrupt is not known.

Late SAJ Musa: NPRC's Disciplinarian

The third is a set of two documents showing bank transfers of another sum of US$50,000 from our passport sales proceeds paid by Frank Yiu into Maada Bio’s secret Channel Islands TSB bank account. That was in December 1994. Bio had by then spent 18 months in power as Deputy NPRC Head since he replaced SAJ Musa. He was to later replace Strasser as well.

This newspaper has many more of such documents. Friday March 23rd 2012 was the anniversary of the day the first bullet was fired in Bomaru in a war that came about mainly because of Squirrel Politicians and their squirreling of funds into foreign bank accounts. On that day, Awareness Times received a bundle of legal and bank documents in a sealed envelope anonymously delivered to our offices with a message inside simply saying: "In the name of this sacred March 23rd date, please do not let the people of Sierra Leone be fooled a second time by squirrels and grun-pigs. Examine these documents and do the correct thing for Mama Salone. Expose them in your widely read and well respected newspaper".

Awareness Times spent the last one week trying to verify and authenticate these documents and we can now confirm these are the documents used to indict former NPRC Foreign Minister Dr. Abass Bundu but for which he had said he was exonerated in December 2005. These documents which are now floating in other media houses show money transfers to Channel Islands Account of P. Banga Investments and also in the name of Julius Maada Bio. They include incriminating bank documents and Bank Transfers from Hong Kong to Ghana and from Hong Kong to Channel Islands over a period spanning many months between the years 1993 and 1996.

They also include illicit payments from New York’s BANK AMERICA into Bio’s foreign bank accounts. Similarly, banks like the famous HSBC, TSB (Lloyds of London) and Midlands Bank (St. Helier, Jersey), Bank of East Asia and others are all shown in the huge paper trail of documents highlighting illicit and criminal cash flows into secret foreign bank accounts held in name JULIUS MAADA BIO or in name of P. BANGA INVESTMENTS LTD, which is the company the former SLPP Government had alleged was a front for Julius Maada Bio who is interestingly now SLPP presidential candidate.

Apart from the huge volume of documents detailing the secret bank transfers into Maada Bio’s foreign bank accounts this paper also has in our possession, the Legal Report to Sierra Leone Cabinet from the then Attorney General’s Office (dated September 1996). This report was prepared and submitted shortly after Bundu was charged for larceny of State money which Bundu was accused of taking into his pocket rather than use it for the judicious use of development the State. Here is a section of what the SLPP Government Cabinet Paper says:- "Out of the passport transactions relating to Frank Yiu, Captain Strasser received a total of US$602,000; Brigadier Bio received US$380,000 and Dr. Abass Bundu got US$210,000...".

Another section of the SLPP Cabinet Paper of 1996 states: "These amounts were paid at different times into designated foreign accounts or in cash. In the case of Captain Strasser, his own share was paid to him personally or into a designated Swiss Account. Brigadier Bio had his paid into the Meridien Bank, Accra Ghana or into an account in Channel Islands, UK. Dr. Abass Bundu’s share was paid to him partly in cash or by transfer to his London account. Dr. Abass Bundu now faces trial for his own role in this transaction. Captain Strasser and Brigadier Bio would have been in the dock with him but the facts became known when both were now well outside the jurisdiction".

The Statement of Disbursement of Funds. This is part of the huge bundle of Sworn Affidavits handed over to the SLPP Kabbah Government in July 1996 by Frank Yiu.

A Certfied Statement which was part of the massive bundle of Sworn Affidavits given to the Kabbah SLPP Government in July 1996

Two documents concerning the payment of US$50,000 into Julius Maada Bio's secret offshore account in the UK's Channel Islands (Account Number 503400 with TSB Channel Islands)

It can be recalled that a famous Anti-Corruption Lawyer now retired in London, R.H.O. Robbin-Coker had written to the SLPP’s Presidential Candidate shortly after his maiden speech demanding answers to all these questions but Robbin-Coker had been ignored.
[ CLICK HERE FOR ROBBIN-COKER LETTER ]

It is not very clear if Bio will continue to ignore the calls for clarification now that all these documents are now out in the open.

However, unlike Maada Bio who has simply ignored the calls, Abass Bundu had respected Sierra Leoneans enough to face them and give his own explanation of the transactions back then. It can be recalled that on Tuesday December 13th 2005 at the Sierra Leone News Agency (SLENA) offices at Wallace Johnson Street in Freetown, Dr. Bundu had called up a Press Conference in which he had accepted that he indeed received such monies as laid out by Frank Yiu, a Hong Kong citizen. However, in Bundu’s prepared Statement as read out on that day, he denied that the monies he received were from the amounts meant for the State. In the process of explaining what Bundu described as "my prosecution for larceny in 1996", this is what he had said back in December 2005 about the issue:

"You might wonder what my relationship with Mr. Frank Yiu was. Why was he ready to give me so much money? Well, let us remember that Mr. Yiu was a prominent businessman in Hong Kong. He had investments worldwide. He also had businesses here in Freetown as well as business associates. I first met him in March 1994 when he visited Freetown for an official briefing. Our second meeting took place in August 1994 when he told me that he had been informed by his business associates about my plans to run for president. He said from what he had been told, he had come to develop respect for my leadership qualities and would like to be associated with my political plans. He also said he was particularly impressed by my desire to forge closer links with the tiger economies of South-East Asia as a possible source of new investment capital for Sierra Leone and asked to be made a key player in that project if I won the presidency. He further explained that although he was not a rich man, he was not without substantial investments in Hong Kong, China and South America, and that his passport business with Sierra Leone constituted only a fraction of his overall business. He then offered to finance my campaign. In the process he made several contributions, all totalling US$210,000".

Dr. Abass Bundu confessed to receiving the US$210,000.[CLICK HERE FOR THAT CONFESSION] He did not deny the authenticity of documents showing the monies entering into his bank account. He however respected Sierra Leonean voters enough to try to give an explanation of why he received such cash into his foreign bank accounts. It is not clear if Julius Maada Bio will respect Sierra Leoneans enough to speak to us on the issue. Attempts by journalists to get Mr. Bio's own side received death threats this week from Bio's supporters at the opposition headquarters.

If Mr. Maada Bio does speak, it is not clear if he will try to deny ownership of his secret foreign Bank Accounts in Ghana and Channel Islands or if he will confess that indeed he is nothing but a big human NPRC Squirrel now running as SLPP presidential candidate.

The Green NPRC-SLPP Squirrel

[ TO BE CONTINUED ]

IS JULIUS MAADA BIO A STATE MONEY THIEF? THE MONEY TRAIL BEGINS

Where has all the money gone? Ariogbooo......fendem, fendem!!

Please CLICK link below
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=326409397422497&set=a.132650853465020.25192.100001603180299&type=1
Thanks to Dr Sylvia Blyden for this update 29 March 2012
Now we begin to know where all the monies that came into the hands of the NPRC post 1992 COUP went.. The IMF, WORLD BANK, EUROPEAN FUND  and such like International funding bodies were in 'post haste' in releasing large amounts of monies to the Military Government of Captain Strasser and his "PIKIN SOJAS", when they overthrew the legitimate government of President Joseph Saidu Momoh. I recall even a $50 million Special Drawing Rights (SDR) facility, which had been approved during President Siaka Stevens time in 1983 or thereabout, (when Hon Salia Jusu Sherriffe was Finance Mininter,) frozen all that time was also released to them. Equally a Deutsche Mark 70 million by the Germans, for which the City Council was connected..
 The records of all those heavy amounts must now be investigated. These 'boy soldiers' of which Maada Bio became a one time second in command, and men like John Benjamin must account for these funds which were dissipated (FITYFATA) with no trace until now that we begin to see where these monies went.

There was no proper control of these high class financing, and these BORBOR SOLDIERS simply had a free hand to ROB the state with no fear or thought. Yes, they instituted Saturday cleaning of the streets, and engaged in prayer days every now and then. They spent some money in projects like building/re-furbishing Round Abouts and painted images of some past heroes, here and there and driving up and down in big cars wasting monies on 'bleached skin" (washing) girls and showing off.. Now we begin to know and see the PAPER WORK of the slick ways these International Finance bodies developing funds where coveted and hidden in overseas accounts of these TIFF MAN DEM. So what do we do now?
 Looking closely at the document below, provided by Awareness Time Proprietor, Dr Sylvia Olayinka Blyden, the details can clearly be seen of this one transaction - date of transfer, 9 December 1994; from Overseas Trust Bank Limited. This does not look like a Sierra Leone based Bank - perhaps a Hung Kong Bank. The account number at this first leg of the transaction  shows 003101601; The name of the officer seems to be  a Mr FRANK YIU. The Bank reference number as: 60042/60023 530 with Julius Maada Bio's name clearly visible in the document. The amount is stated as: HKD 387,000 (Three hundred and eighty seven thousand Hung Kong Dollars - converted at the rate of 7.7400HKD to US$1( now this was 1992).

QUESTION? WHERE DID THE MONEY COME FROM ORIGINALLY, THAT WENT INTO THE OVERSEAS TRUST BANK? This appears to be a TRANSIT Bank not the INITIATING Bank.

 The second LEG of the transaction, is a movement from Overseas Trust Bank Limited in Hung Kong to The Beneficiary's Bank, the TSB ( Trustee Savings Bank, (NOW PART OF LLOYDS BANK - and now owned by British Tax Payesrs and British Government):

 The address is clearly seen as TSB Channel  Island Limited, OFFSURE CENTRE, PO BOX No 597, ST. HELIER, JERSEY, JE48 XW.  ACCOUNT NUMBER 503400 -  NAME: JULIIUS MAADA BIO. 

Note that this account number is different from the one in the Overseas Trust Bank. These accounts are created to facilitate TAX AVOIDANCE - hence OFFSURE - They are TAX HEAVENS . 

It is clear from this document that the TSB Jersey holds a correspondent account for the Overseas Trust Bank with account number 3101601-  The instruction       

from the Hung Kong Bank, to debit their account held at TSB Jersey can be visualise at the bottom of the document with a check box "TICKED"

 On the bottom right side of the document from Overseas Trust Bank Limited (marked "Remittance" - at the top right) one can see the words " APPLICANT'S SIGNATURE followed by the words Champion Fund Investment Limited" with two  'Authorised Signatures' which cannot be read easily and a telephone number (I guess it's Hung Kong's) 8020163.

Questions? Who are Champions Fund Investments Limited? Were they transfer/transaction facilitators or were they part of the  deal? Where did the original monies come from that they dealt with and pass on through the Two Banks to end up in Julius Maada Bio's Account in Jersey? How many more of such Transactions existed?  What was their cut/commission on these deals percentage wise? 

This is only the beginning just a scratch on the surface. The krokro go big (the wound will enlarge when the real truth emerge.

IS THIS PART OF THE MONEY BIO USED TO BUY HOUSES IN NEW JERSEY and SPAIN?
  WE GO FIND OUT.




PLEASE CLICK LINK TO READ DR BLYDEN'S FACE BOOK POST ANS POPULAR COMMENTS

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=326409397422497&set=a.132650853465020.25192.100001603180299&type=1

By Dr. Sylvia Blyden - Face Book Post


Sierra Leone Opposition Threatens to Kill Journalists Before Polls: Staunch members of the Sierra Leone Peoples Party (SLPP) have yesterday promised that come November 17th 2012, they will be embarking on a mission to kill journalists they perceive as being against their party. The SLPP members made the threats yesterday whilst molesting two journalists from the Awareness Times who had gone to the party offices to seek clarification from Julius Maada Bio concerning monies alleged to have been stolen from the State and paid into his overseas accounts at the time he was Deputy Head of State in the NPRC military junta. (ONE OF NUMEROUS BANKING DOCUMENTS CURRENTLY IN POSSESSION OF AWARENESS TIMES IS ACCOMPANYING THIS UPDATE)
The Awareness Times had initially fruitlessly tried to contact Mr. Bio on his phone lines but having failed to get him, we got his Personal Assistant John Tucker who said his boss was “tied up” and “busy” but he would find time to speak with him.
Awareness Times then informed Tucker that we were sending two journalists and we dispatched Edward Tommy and cub reporter Mariama Bundu to speak with Mr. Bio.
It was whilst the two journalists were patiently waiting to talk to Mr. Bio that they were pounced upon by supporters of Mr. Bio who accused them of being spies listening to the SLPP secrets. They clearly knew Tommy to be a journalist and when he reminded them that he was waiting to speak with Bio and he was from Awareness Times, they went enraged and ordered Tommy and Mariama to leave the premises. They frog-marched them all the way down the three sets of stairways with one of them even bundling up Tommy’s trousers whilst shouting and threatening them.
They rudely insulted the journalists all the way to their party gates whilst openly making threats that they had certain journalists they would be killing as soon as they won the elections in November.
“We just dey wait for the bell for ring!!” a violent SLPP lady promised as she said they will deal with journalists as soon as the bell is announced that they have won the elections.
Many citizens are fearful that with the growing violence originating from the SLPP during which they do not even spare their members, the Sierra Leone Police needs to be on proper alert and with a good state of mind to avert any pogrom and massacre of citizens especially journalists. Meanwhile, most independent journalists no longer have confidence in the ability of the President of Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ) to protect them from SLPP partisans as he is widely believed to be heavily compromised on the side of the SLPP. Yesterday, the SLAJ Offices were closed and when journalists phoned up Umaru Fofana the president, he said he was too busy attending to a report he was filing for the BBC to attend to SLAJ matters.
It can be recalled that the opposition has made a lot of noise over the Government’s decision to arm the Sierra Leone police after years of the police using obsolete weapons. An arms embargo on the country was lifted in late 2010 which was when the Government started a process to order the weapons to ensure the country’s internal security was well guarded.
“Only criminals and murderers and those planning to undertake very bad things will oppose a country arming its legitimate police force. If the SLPP was not full of criminals and thieves, they would not be fearful of armed policemen,” said Mohamed Bockarie Fofana, a youth activist from Karina, Bombali District. His sentiments are being widely re-echoed all over the country.