money laundering, fraud or drug". The letter to the Inspector General of Police
read in part thus "During preliminary investigation conducted, it was established
that Mr. Valentine Ayika is a businessman with assets in both Liberia and Nigeria.
But, the manner in which he brought such a huge amount of money in Liberia
violates
Central Bank of Liberia (CBL) rules and regulations ...No drug
was
discovered".
35. On January 23, 2009, the Minister of Justice and Attorney General wrote to
the Executive Governor of the Central Bank stating as follows: "The Reports of
the various officials and agencies, attached hereto, conclude that while the act of
Mr. Ayika violated the Central Bank Regulations on Foreign Currency Declaration
Limit, there was no evidence that there was an attempt to engage in money
laundering or that the amount was associated with or the result of any criminal
activities perpetrated by Mr. Ayika or any person or institution which sought to
convert their criminal activities into a legitimate activity by laundering the money.
Predicated upon the said findings that the amount was not part of any money
laundering scheme,--the officials have recommended that the fun be released to
_
Mr. ....Ayika
, subject -to the penalty prescribed by the Central Bank for the violation
....
of its-regulations, and which we understand to be not less than 25% of the value
of the undeclared amount".
36. On January 24, 2009, the Minister of Justice and Attorney General wrote again
to the Executive Governor of the Central Bank and advised that they had received
additional information which warranted further investigation into the matter and
therefore withdrawing the request for the funds to be released to the plaintiff
pending the conclusion of the investigation.
•
37. The legal justification for withholding plaintiff's cash is clear from the record.
The court ordered for the confiscation of plaintiff's fundspending investigations ·
into the money laundering charges preferred against him. This is confirmed by
the receipt issued by the Central Bank upon receipt of the money. This extract
from the bank's receipt is self-explanatory and it reads: 'On September 11, 2006,
the said amount was taken to the Central Bank of Liberia for counterfeit
verification. The verification exercise proved that the money was not counterfeit.
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