By Jane B. Mansaray.
In the criminal matter before the court, presiding Justice Aiah Simeon Allieu, yesterday granted a One Billion Leones bail each to five former employees of First International Bank (FIB) Sierra Leone Limited, now known as Vista Bank, Sierra Leone Limited.
In his ruling to the bail condition, Justice Aiah Simeon Allieu ordered the accused persons, Alfred Aiah Saquee-Kamanda, Mohamed Mallam Kamara, George Yammah, Steven Okeke and John Emmanuel Eze; all former employees of the aforesaid Bank in Freetown to surrender their travelling documents to the Master andย Registrar of the High Court of Sierra Leone.
The accused persons are to provide one surety each who should be ordinarily resident in Freetown, property owner in the Western Area and to produce a conveyance value of One Billion Leones, with a valid National Identity Card (ID) or votersโ ID card. The matter has been adjourned to 24th August 2021 for further hearing.
The accused persons are jointly answering to (186) counts criminal offences of conspiracy to defraud and conspiracy to undertake money laundering contrary to the Anti-Money Laundering and Combating of Financing Terrorism Act No.2 of 2012.
All five accused persons were alleged by the state to have, in 2013 and 2018 respectively, with intent, defrauded and fraudulently converted to an unauthorized account the total sum of Fourteen Billion, Two Hundred and Five Million, Two Hundred and Eighty Six Thousand, Ninety- Six Leone and Six Cent.
Out of a total of 186 indictment proffered at the Law Officers Department, the first accused person, Alfred Aiah Saquee Kamanda is alone answering to Counts 17 to 80 of falsification of false account operated in the bank with intent of false entry of monies; and at the same time answering to counts 83 to 172 of Larceny.
The second accused person, Mohamed Mallam Kamara is also alone answering to few counts of falsification and larceny, contrary to law.
The accused persons who pleaded not guilty to all the counts will be tried by Judge Alone, instead of a Judge and Jury. This, according to Justice Aiah Simeon Allieu, will constitute granting an application by the State Prosecutor, Joseph Andrew K. Sesay pursuant to Section 144 (2) of Act.32 of the Criminal Procedure Act 1965, filed and served under the hand writing of the Attorney General and Minister of Justice dated 10th August 2021. The application was made in the interest of justice and speedy trial and was not objected to by Defense Counsels.
Lawyer Drucil E. Taylor, on behalf of the accused persons, applied for bail and assured the court that the accused persons are not a flight risk, and for the past three years under investigation, their travelling documents had been confiscated.
The bail application was not objected to by the state prosecutor, but said that bail is at the discretion of the Judge, but urged the presiding Judge to take into consideration the status quo with respect to the fourth and fifth accused persons, Steven Okeke and John Emmanuel Eze who are foreigners.
