By Amin Kef (Ranger)
The High Court of Sierra Leone, presided over by the Honourable Justice, Aiah Simeon Alieu J., delivered a landmark conviction on November 22, 2024, against Abdul Salim Mansaray, the former Head of Retail Operations at Ecobank and Magnus Samuel Valentine Cole, a resident of 12 Lewis Street, Kenema, Eastern Region after both individuals pleaded guilty to a series of corruption charges.
Abdul Salim Mansaray faced a total of seventy (70) counts, including misappropriation of public revenue, unlawfully acquiring public property and conspiracy to commit corruption offenses. He was also charged with providing misleading information and transferring property to disguise its illicit nature under the Anti-Money Laundering and Combating Terrorism Financing Act, 2024.
In a decisive ruling, Justice Aiah Simeon Alieu J. sentenced Abdul Salim Mansaray to a fine of One Hundred and Fifty Thousand New Leones (NLe 150,000) or a five-year imprisonment term. The court also ordered the forfeiture of Abdul Salim Mansaray’s funds held in accounts at Rokel Commercial Bank and United Bank for Africa (UBA). These funds, totaling Five Hundred and Sixty-One Thousand, Three Hundred and Eighty New Leones (NLe 561,380.64) and One Hundred and Sixteen Thousand, Nine Hundred and Sixty-Five New Leones (NLe 116,965.59), will be forfeited to the State, with Two Hundred Thousand New Leones (NLe 200,000) deducted to cover solicitor fees.
In a related case, Magnus Samuel Valentine Cole was convicted on charges of unlawfully acquiring public property and conspiracy to commit a corruption offense. He was sentenced to a fine of Fifty Thousand New Leones (NLe 50,000) or five years in prison.
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) offered no evidence against Tallu Jalloh, who was previously named in the case.
The convictions mark another significant victory in Sierra Leone’s ongoing fight against corruption, reinforcing the country’s commitment to upholding integrity and transparency in public service.
