Liberia removes the governor of the national bank due to an audit

The information minister and a central bank representative announced on Tuesday that irregular loans to the government and unapproved spending were discovered during an audit, leading to Liberia’s suspension of its central bank governor.

After entering office in January, Joseph Boakai, the president of Liberia, ordered an audit of three important government agencies, including the national bank.

Following the publication of the General Auditing Commission’s report, which covered the years 2018 to 2023, last week, Jolue Aloysius Tarlue will be placed on indefinite leave.

“Irregularities” in central bank lending to the government were discovered in the audit, including over $80 million in financing for salary payments that appeared to be unapproved.

Additionally, anomalies in the manner some contracts were granted were discovered.

The investigation also stated that during the course of the five-year period, the management of the bank “exceeded approved expenditure limits” and that “the approved budget expenditure projections consistently surpassed revenue projections, indicating a pattern of deficit financing.”

In terms of public sector corruption, Liberia is ranked 145th out of 180 nations by Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index.

Three government officials who had been sanctioned by the US for allegedly continuing their role in public corruption were suspended by then President George Weah in 2022.

According to a central bank official, the governor “will comply with any investigative team that will be set up.”