"Global Witness has collected evidence demonstrating that logging companies are illegally owned or controlled by politicians such as House of Representatives members Alex Tyler, Moses Kollie, and Ricks Toweh,” the Global WitnessOne of such companies, according to the report, is the International Consultants Capital (ICC) which is partly-owned by Representatives Moses Kollie and Tyler. FMC B: Contract awarded to EJ&J Investment Corp. EJ&J is operated by Mandra Forestry Liberia Ltd. (Mandra), according to the Global Witness. Such a deal was illegal as only a committee appointed by the Inter Ministerial Concessions Committee can negotiate a logging contract,” Global Witness. In an effort to root out corrupt deals, the Liberian government requires logging companies to declare their real, or “beneficial,” owners. During Liberia’s civil war, which ended in 2003, logging companies propped up the regime of Charles Taylor and trafficked arms.

Source: Front Page Africa February 14, 2017 07:00 UTC