—– As Banks Confirmed US. Sanction Designees Account Blocked
IPNEWS: On Monday, August 15, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated Liberian government officials Nathaniel McGill, Sayma Syrenius Cephus, and Bill Twehway for their involvement in ongoing public corruption in Liberia. These officials are designated pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13818, which builds upon and implements the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act and targets perpetrators of serious human rights abuse and corruption around the world, against this backdrop, IPNEWS understands that multi-national institutions are now effectuating the U.S. sanction beginning with suspended Liberia Minister of State, Nathaniel McGill.
Reports from multiple high-profile personalities have hinted that the rocks of sanction are beginning to drop on Nathaniel McGill, with his wife, Mrs. Vivian Innis McGill’s U.S. Green Card reportedly being seized in the United States.
Sources also hinted that the wife of the suspended Minister of State has since resigned her post at the UN Office in Liberia where she previously worked when she was called in to talk about policy issues.
On the heels of this revocation of the Green Card status of Vivian, IPNEWS has also gathered that the private account of suspended Minister of State for Presidential Affairs Nathaniel McGill at United Bank for Africa (UBA) in Accra, Ghana containing about four million United States Dollars has been blocked based on instructions from the US Sanctions Committee.
Quoting online GNN-Liberia, the source in Accra, speaking via mobile phone said the order was issued to the bank from the United States, and to other banking institutions where McGill may have deposited his money, this is a result of the immediate enforcement of the sanctions order. IPNEWS is making frantic efforts with UBA Headquarters for further verification on the blocking of Mr. McGill’s UBA account in Accra, Ghana.
Information late Thursday suggests that serval Banks in Liberia have confirmed notice from the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), for the blocking and freezing of personnel accounts belonging to three designated Liberian officials.
According to IPNEWS impeachable sources, at the United BANK for Africa (UBA) and SIB (formerly GN BANK) confirmed they received official communication from the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) early Thursday, August 18, 2022, to freeze the accounts of the three officials of government who were this week placed under Sanction by the United States Department of Treasury for corruption. Two banks in Liberia have confirmed the freezing of Bill Tweahey, Sarenus CEPHUS, and Nathaniel McGill”s accounts.
Multiple sources at the United BANK for Africa (UBA) and SIB (formerly GN BANK) told New Republic Newspaper that they received official communication from the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) early Thursday to freeze the accounts of the three officials of government who were this week placed under Sanction by the United States Department of Treasury for corruption.
Bill is the Managing director of the country’s largest sea Port_ the Free Port of Monrovia, while McGill is the Minister of State for Presidential Affairs and CEPHUS is the government’s Chief prosecutor.
The banks refused to state their account details.,” It is confidential. We can’t disclose the account details”, a source at SIB said.
Another source at UBA said: “the accounts of these people were frozen today. We received instructions from FIU, and we are under obligation to honor it.”
It is not known how long their accounts will be blocked,
Under the sanctions, all property and interests in property of McGill and the other two officials that are in the United States must be blocked and reported to Treasury, while people who engage in transactions with the officials may be subject to sanctions themselves, the statement said.
“Through their corruption, these officials have undermined democracy in Liberia for their own personal benefit,” Brian Nelson, Treasury’s undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said in a statement.
In a United States Government recent sanctions imposed on Nathaniel Falo McGill for massive corruption, the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, stated that McGill during his tenure in government, bribed business owners, received bribes from potential investors, and accepted kickbacks for steering contracts to companies in which he has an interest.
The report further noted that Mr. McGill manipulated public procurement processes in order to award multi-million-dollar contracts to companies in which he has ownership, including by abusing emergency procurement processes to rig contract bids. McGill is credibly accused of involvement in a wide range of other corrupt schemes including soliciting bribes from government office seekers and misappropriating government assets for his personal gain.
He has used government funds allocated to other Liberian government institutions to run his own projects, made off-the-books payments in cash to senior government leaders, and organized warlords to threaten political rivals. McGill has received an unjustified stipend from various Liberian government institutions and used his position to prevent his misappropriation from being discovered. McGill regularly distributes thousands of dollars in undocumented cash to other government officials for government and non-government activities.
As a result of this action, all property and interests in property of these targets that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons must be blocked and reported to OFAC. In addition, any entities that are owned, directly or indirectly, 50 percent or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked. OFAC’s regulations generally prohibit all dealings by U.S. persons or within the United States (including transactions transiting the United States) that involve any property or interests in property of blocked or designated persons. (Courtesy of GNN Liberia & New Republic Newspaper).
