— As Martin Kollie, Campaigners for Academic Crimes Court, Gets ‘Massive’ Applause

IPNEWS: Not until he was burst, current Liberia Bank for Development and Investment (LBDI), President Deo Delaney, claimed to have an academic post-graduate degree in ‘Behavioral Finance,’ with a focus on ‘Investment Decisions’ from the prestigious Harvard Kennedy School of Government,

Now, in a series of transcripts provided by Martin Kollie’s Campaigners for Academic Crimes Court, the Harvard College of Academic Integrity, has viewed the paraded fake credentials by LBDI President Deo Delaney, as ‘egregious academic fraud’.

A disclaimer issued by Harvard University stated that “LBDI President Deo Delaney did not complete any Postgraduate Studies in Behavioral Finance” at the Kennedy School of Government

In its efforts to authenticate and erase academic fraudsters, including Deo Delaney’s academic credentials, the  Campaigners for Academic Crimes Court (CACC), in communication to  Harvard University through Ms. Kerry A. Dahl (Client Services Coordinator, kerry_dahl@hks.harvard.edu), the anti-academic fraud campaigners sought the authenticity of Mr. Delaney’s credentials, especially his postgraduate degree.

In response on December 2, 2022, Ms. Kerry A. Dahl, Client Services Coordinator, at Harvard University stated: “Our programs are for professional development. They are not tied to any academic credit, grades or degree. At the end of the program, you would receive a certificate of completion. We then send a more detailed email to inquire whether Mr. Delaney ever studied any postgraduate program at Harvard,” Ms. Kerry A. Dahl, told the CACC.

Further to Ms. Dahl’s disclaimer of LBDI President’s postgraduate degree, she told CACC that Deo Delaney indeed participated in a three-day Executive Education program and was granted a Certificate of Participation/Completion, from Harvard University and not a postgraduate degree as claimed by Mr. Deo Delaney, President of LBDI.

Another concern that has currently been probed into by the Campaigners for Academic Crimes Court (CACC), is the authenticity of Deo Delaney’s alleged Master, in Global Business from the University of Oxford.

The CACC stated that the University of Oxford Business School has intimated that again Mr. Doe Delaney has also lied in his submission as holding a Master in Global Business. IPNEWS could not independently verify the Oxford testimony as the CACC has promised to make the public transcript of communication between it and Oxford University.

IPNEWS made frantic efforts in getting a counter-response from Delaney over this latest claim by the CACC parading with fake academic credentials but to no avail. IPNEWS reporter was prevented Friday, December 2, 2022, from seeking admission for an exclusive with Delaney.

In the wake of the revelation by the Martin Kollie Campaigners for Academic Crimes Court (CACC), there are mounting calls for an impartial investigation by the Board of Managers of the Liberian Bank for Development and Investment to rescue its reputation as an all-time outstanding commercial Banking institution in Liberia.

“We will also file a complaint to the LBDI Board and the Liberian Senate. More details to follow. We are making this sacrifice because we love Liberia. Academic fraudsters will be weeded out at all costs. Liberia has suffered too long from fake degrees. Academic integrity is a MUST,” Lead campaigner Martin Kollie stated.

On May 4, 2022, Deogratias (Deo) Zobon Delaney, 37, was appointed new President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Liberian Bank of Development & Investment (LBDI) in Monrovia, Liberia, replacing John B.S. Davies whose tenure expired at the end of April 2022.

The LBDI President and CEO is appointed by the Board of Directors consistent with Section 64.31 of the Bank’s Charter and the Prudential Regulations of the Central Bank of Liberia.

In his role as President of the Liberia Bank for Development and Investment, Delaney heads the bank’s Executive Management Team and serves as the Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Board consistent with the relevant provisions of the Bank’s Charter and by-laws to include among other responsibilities: providing strategic leadership, general supervision, management and administration of the vision, direction and operations of the LBDI Bank.

According to a leaked autobiography transcript from the Board of Directors Chairman, and Finance Minister, Republic of Liberia, Samuel Tweah, to members of the Board and obtained by IPNEWS, states that “Mr. Delaney joins LBDI with broad international experience spanning more than 15 years in global finance, trade and commerce, and digital strategy for financial institutions.’ ‘He holds a Master’s in Global Business with academic distinction from the University of Oxford Said Business School. At Oxford, his thesis was awarded an academic distinction for its analysis of the role and relevance of market institutions in sustaining the growth of industries in emerging markets.”

“Before that, Mr. Delaney earned a Master’s in Human Rights and Conflict Affairs at the Institute of Law and Politics of the Scuola Superiore S’Anna di Pisa in Italy. At the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, Mr. Delaney completed post-graduate studies in Investment Decisions and Behavioral Finance.”

Samuel Tweah’s transcript further revealed that Mr. Delaney is a member of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS), where he worked as a strategy, management, and technology consultant at Accenture in Amsterdam before joining LBDI. Still, at CIPS, where he served as a Practice Lead at Accenture, according to Samuel Tweah, Delaney oversaw digital transformation strategy for financial institutions and multinationals.

Samuel Tweah: “Delaney has experience working in various posts across the United Nations system, including UNMIL, the UN Climate Change Secretariat (UNFCCC) headquarters in Bonn, Germany, and UNICEF’s headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark.”

“He has also worked at the European Commission External Action Service – Common Security and Defense policy (CSDP) and the British Chambers of Commerce, where he led the European Union and international trade team. In that role, Mr. Delaney played a key role in negotiations of the largest free trade deal in the world: The Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), leading the EU Nordic public consultations. Prior to Accenture, Mr. Delaney worked at the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) in Beijing, China, managing the institution’s financial services outsourcing portfolio covering treasury and controller operations.”

“At AIIB, He supported the issuance of the Bank’s first USD global bond, raising $3.5 billion USD. He also worked on the team that launched Renminbi (RMB)-denominated bond issuance, raising $500 million USD; and worked with the bank’s External Fund Management Program (EMP) for liquid asset management of $6 billion USD. Mr. Delaney also supported Liberia’s accession to the AIIB. During the pandemic, he was appointed to the World Bank Global Steering Committee COVAX Traceability Expert Advisory Board, leading Accenture’s efforts on the design and build of the Global Trust Repository for COVID vaccines.”

 “At UNICEF, Mr. Delaney headed the Global Alliance for Vaccination and Immunization (GAVI) co-financing program covering 76 countries. A contributing writer to the Huffington Post, Mr. Delaney has written tens of articles and co-authored scores of publications and white papers on business, free trade, technology, investment protection, and sustainable investment. Throughout his career, Mr. Delaney has chaired numerous international conferences on a range of subjects in global finance and trade. For leisure, Mr. Delaney enjoys biking, running, singing, and traveling.”