By: Saidu Jalloh
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has filed an extensive indictment against Ecobank Sierra Leone Limited, its former Head of Retail Operations, Abdul Salim Mansaray, and two other individuals—Tallu Jalloh and Magnus Samuel Valentine Cole—on a total of 147 counts of corruption and related offenses.
Mansaray faces 57 counts of misappropriation of public revenue, one count of unlawfully acquiring public property, conspiracy to commit a corruption offense, eight counts of providing misleading information, and one count of transferring illicit property. Ecobank is indicted on 142 counts, which include 57 counts of misappropriation, 57 counts of failing to report suspicious transactions, and multiple counts of failing to conduct due diligence and providing misleading information.
These charges are linked to an alleged scheme between March 2022 and October 2023, during which tax revenues intended for the National Revenue Authority (NRA) were reportedly diverted to the personal accounts of Jalloh and Cole. The total amount misappropriated is estimated at Le 17.4 million, involving transactions from several companies, including Oxfam, Meya Mining, and NP (SL) Limited.
The ACC asserts that Ecobank failed to identify these transactions as suspicious, in violation of the Anti-Money Laundering and Combating of Terrorism Act. The commission has reaffirmed its commitment to combating corruption in Sierra Leone.
