Claim: A social media post claims “Just got intel that Joseph Boakai has been placed on US sanction list for requesting a bribe from ADA.
The claim that former Vice President Joseph Boakai has been placed on the US sanction list is false. The U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY sanction list has no record of the claim.
A Facebook post from the account handler Prisca Paul published on April 26, 2021, claims that former Vice President Joseph Boakai is on the US sanction list because of a bribe he received from African Development Aid.
The ADA – Agricultural Company mandates Government of Liberia to produce rice to feed the country.
The post attracted 96 comments, 73 reactions and 4 shares.
Verification
First, The Stage Media (TSM) contacted the United States Embassy in Monrovia, Public Affairs Department to verify the claim.
Michael Ardaiolo, Public Affairs Officer, U.S. Embassy Monrovia in email said, Designated persons, including those designated pursuant to the Global Magnitsky sanctions program, can be found on the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control’s (OFAC) Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN) List, found on OFAC’s Sanctions List Search tool: https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/financial-sanctions/sanctions-list-search-tool.
When TSM search the tool, former Vice President Boakai name was not among the 13 contacts listed in Liberia.
Conclusion
Though multiple controversies have been looming around the ADA project, former Vice President Joseph Boakai has not been listed on US sanction list. Therefore, the claim, posted by Prica Paul is false.
