Monrovia- In observance of the International Anti-Corruption Day, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has placed sanctions on Cllr. Varney Sherman, Senator of Grand Cape Mount County.
The US said they are targeting corrupt actors and their networks across several countries in Africa and Asia.
“Today’s actions are taken pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13818, which builds upon and implements the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, and targets perpetrators of corruption and serious human rights abuse.”
According to the US, Cllr. Sherman, the Liberian Senate Judiciary Committee offered bribes to multiple judges associated with his trial for a 2010 bribery scheme, and he had an undisclosed conflict of interest with the judge who ultimately returned a not guilty verdict in July 2019.
The US said Sherman has routinely paid judges to decide cases in his favour, and he has allegedly facilitated payments to Liberian politicians to support the impeachment of a judge who has ruled against him.
In the 2010 scheme that led to this trial, Sherman was hired by a British mining company to obtain one of Liberia’s last remaining mining assets, the Wologizi iron ore concession.
Sherman advised the company that, in order to obtain the contract, they first had to get Liberia’s procurement and concessions law changed by bribing senior officials.
In 2016, Sherman was indicted by the Liberian government, along with several other government officials, for their involvement in the USD 950,000 bribery scheme.
In 2019, the presiding judge acquitted all individuals accused of being involved in the bribery scheme.
“Sherman’s acts of bribery demonstrate a larger pattern of behaviour to exercise influence over the Liberian judiciary and the Ministry of Justice,” said the US.
Sherman is designated for being a foreign person who is a current or former government official responsible for or complicit in, or 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.
Cllr. Sherman is not alone as the Treasury also placed sanctions on Corrupt Actors in Asia.
“On International Anti-Corruption Day, Treasury remains fully committed to imposing costs on those who facilitate corruption at the expense of the people,” said Deputy Secretary Justin G. Muzinich.
The International Anti-Corruption Day has been observed annually on December 9 since the United Nations General Assembly adopted the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) on October 31, 2003.
There are currently 187 States parties to the UNCAC. In addition to sending a message against corrupt behaviour, Treasury uses its tools to increase transparency, accountability, and the rule of law.
At the same time, the Treasury encourages all governments to implement anti-money laundering reforms to address corruption vulnerabilities.
