IPNEWS-Monrovia: Barely few hours after the sanctioned and suspended Solicitor General of Liberia, Cllr. Sayma Syrenius Cephus’ accusation against Justice Minister Frank Musa Dean of being the person behind his placement on the list of targeted government officials for alleged corruption, United States Ambassador to Liberia Michael McCarthy has distanced himself from the communication.
FrontPage Africa reports that Justice Minister Musa Dean informed that the suspended and sanctioned Solicitor General doctored his signature in a purported letter to the US Ambassador McCarthy for reason only he alone knows.
In response to a FrontPage Africa inquiry on Tuesday afternoon, Sean Boda, Public Affairs Officer at the Embassy, said the Embassy has no record of such a communication. “We have no record at the Embassy of ever having received such a letter,” Boda said.
The embassy’s denial follows a strong denial from Minister Dean who questioned the timing and motive of the SG’s purported letter.
The January 15, 2022 communication surfaced in the media and social media over the last 24 hours and was purportedly written by Minister Dean to Ambassador McCarthy informing him that the Solicitor General has been overlapping his functions.
The letter described Cllr. Cephus’ behavior as one which has the propensity to “impede the peace process of our country and the justice system. It is dangerous to have such a bad apple in public service.”
Justice Minister Musa Dean and the sanctioned and suspended Solicitor General Sayma Syrenius Cephus
In a response to FrontPage Africa early today, Minister Dean described the letter as “Complete forgery and the making of Cephus”, adding, “So, if he had this letter, dated January 15, 2022, what was he waiting for to bring it to the fore?”
When asked whether the signature was also forged, Cllr. Dean said, “I don’t know. Probably, the signature was traced or lifted. This is not my diction”.
On Tuesday, August 23, 2022, Justice Minister Musa Dean has told FrontPage Africa that the letter circulating on social media and other news media outlets suggesting that he reported the sanctioned and suspended Solicitor General to the U.S. Ambassador was doctored.
He described the letter as “Complete forgery and the making of Cephus”, adding, “So, if he had this letter, dated January 15, 2022, what was he waiting for to bring it to the fore?”
When asked whether the signature was also forged, Cllr. Dean said, “I don’t know. Probably, the signature was traced or lifted. This is not my diction”.
He went on to say the email address (deanmusa95@gmail.com) that appears on the letter are also not his, giving my email addresses are: musdean@yahoo.com and frankmdeanjr@gmail.com as his working and only email address.
The January 15, 2022 communication that only surfaced in the media this week was purportedly written by Min. Dean to the U.S. Ambassador Michael McCarthy informing him that the Solicitor General has been overlapping his functions.
The letter described Cllr. Cephus’ behavior as one which has the propensity to “impede the peace process of our country and the justice system. It is dangerous to have such a bad apple in public service.”
But Cllr. Dean says the letter was doctored to make it appear that it was based on his complaint that he, Cllr. Cephus was added to the list of sanctioned officials.
The purported and doctored letter reportedly sent to Ambassador McCarthy which he has distanced himself.
Cllr. Cephus was among three key officials of the Weah-led government that were sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department on August 15.
The Treasury Department noted that the controversial Solicitor General developed close relationships with suspects of criminal investigations and received bribes from individuals in exchange for having their cases dropped. “Cephus has worked behind the scenes to establish arrangements with subjects of money laundering investigations to cease investigations in order to personally benefit financially. He shields money launderers and helps clear them through the court system and has intimidated other prosecutors in an attempt to quash investigations. Cephus has also utilized his position to hinder investigations and block the prosecution of corruption cases involving members of the government. Cephus has been accused of tampering with and purposefully withholding evidence in cases involving members of opposition political parties to ensure conviction.”
When asked whether the signature was also forged, Cllr. Dean said, “I don’t know. Probably, the signature was traced or lifted. This is not my diction”.
The Solicitor General, according to the Treasury Department, is being designated for being a foreign person who is a current government official who is responsible for or complicit in, or who has directly or indirectly engaged in, corruption, including the misappropriation of state assets, the expropriation of private assets for personal gain, corruption related to government contracts or the extraction of natural resources, or bribery.
Meanwhile, the suspended Solicitor General has written President Weah complaining Cllr. Dean for ‘writing’ such a letter to the U.S. Ambassador.
He also called on the President to prevail on the U.S. Government to grant him the opportunity to be accorded due process and his “day in court to face Minister Dean and the rest of my accusers and to be confronted with the evidence that they have procured against me.”
