IPNews-Monrovia: The Financial Intelligence Unit is investigating suspicious money laundering dealings between the United Nations System in Liberia and the Pan African Real Estate Corporation.
According to a release issued in Monrovia, the FIU stated that in pursuant of the Financial Intelligence Unit Act of 2012, section 67. 3 (b) which states “the FIU shall trace/monitor property or any assets suspected to be related to money laundering or its predicate offenses, terrorist financing or proceed of crimes”, The FIU has requested the United Nations in Liberia to put an immediate hold on all rent payment to Pan African Real Estate Corporation until further notice emanating from the outcome of due process on the legitimacy of the ownership of the Pan African Plaza, owns jointly by the Liberian and Libyan People that was formerly managed under the Liberian Libyan Holding Corporations.
The Financial Intelligence Unit of Liberia release also states that it has determined that it has reasonable grounds suspecting the Pan African Real Estate Cooperation to be a shell/Front company set up purposely to defraud the Governments of Liberia and Libya of revenues as established under the Liberia-Libyan Holding Company, which unfortunately was repealed by Former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf to purposely make way for the Pan African Real Estate Cooperation(a shell company) to illegally, criminally, maliciously collect rent income from the property for personal gains against the interests of the peoples of Liberia and Libya.
After the Liberian Libyan Holding Company was repealed, there has been no successor established by the Liberian Legislature and there is no public record of sale of the company or its properties in a competitive bid process in keeping with the Public Procurement Laws of Liberia or international best practices on acquisition and disposal of state owned assets.
Section 15.3(t) of the Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Act of 2012 makes Inside trading and Market manipulation predicate offenses. Hence, any acquisition or transfer of properties as a direct result of the above mentioned predicate offenses cannot be legally recognized or accepted as legitimate. Whatever the case of due diligence may have been, the Financial Intelligence Unit thinks the United Nations is a victim and had been misled to engage in business with a shadowed company. Additionally, section 15. 2.1 (a)(b)(c) make a person or body corporate or legal entity guilty of the crime of money laundering if such persons or body corporate or legal entity believes or have reasons to believe that said property is a proceed of crimes. It is in this vein, the FIU requested and immediate and unconditional withholding of all payments to the Pan African Real Estate Corporation.
The Independent Probe is making frantic efforts to have words from both the United Nations system in Liberia and the Pan African Real Estate Corporation.
However, information gathered by the Independent Probe says the Pan African Estate Corporation is a holding investment in which the government of Liberia has a share of 14%, while a company identified as LAICO Libya with a 74% share and the Islamic Appeal Association with 12% share
It may be recalled, the UN reached a deal with the government of Liberia under the leadership of former Liberian president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, to the operations of the United Nations Mission in Liberia-UNMIL, which was subsequently taken over by all UN Agencies following the immediate departure of UNMIL in 2018. Investigation continues.
