After taking office in January, Liberia President Joseph Boakai initiated an audit of three major government institutions, including the central bank.
Following the release of the General Auditing Commission’s report last week, which examined the period from 2018 to 2023, Jolue Aloysius Tarlue will be suspended indefinitely.
The report revealed “irregularities” in the central bank’s loans to the government, including more than $80 million in what appeared to be unauthorized funds for salary payments.
It also highlighted discrepancies in the contract awarding process.
The report further revealed that the bank’s management “went beyond the approved expenditure limits” during the five-year span and observed that “budget spending forecasts consistently outpaced revenue projections, indicating a persistent pattern of deficit financing”.
Liberia is ranked 145th out of 180 countries on Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index, which assesses the perceived levels of public sector corruption.
In 2022, former President George Weah suspended three government officials after they were sanctioned by the United States for their alleged involvement in public corruption.
A spokesperson for the central bank stated that the governor “will cooperate fully with any investigative team established”.