\n\n\n\n
- \n
- MONROVIA – Minister of Justice-designate Cooper Kruah is a repeated forestry offender, with his company involved in illegal logging operations dating back to the Liberian Civil War era.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Kruah\u2019s Universal Forestry Corporation (UFC) was debarred from forestry in 2006, based on the United Nations Security Council\u2019s recommendation<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- UFC crept its way back into the sector\u2014with assistance from forestry authorities\u2014and continued its illegal activities<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- UFC was involved in the infamous Private Use Permit Scandal in which it illegally received two permits at the detriment of local communities<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Later, UFC signed an agreement with a community forest in Nimba. Then the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications, Kruah remained one of its shareholders\u2014a violation of the Code of Conduct for Public Officials and forestry\u2019s legal instruments<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Kruah presented a fake document, which misspells his son\u2019s name, to cover up his conflict of interest<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- UFC persisted with its offenses, abusing the rights of local people, conducting illegal harvesting and transport<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
MONROVIA \u2013 Cllr. Cooper Kruah, the Minister of Justice-designate, has a long history of being a forestry offender. His nomination contradicts the role of the Attorney General and undermines President Joseph Boakai\u2019s expressed quest for accountability and the rule of law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In his Inaugural Address<\/a>, President Boakai promised to fight corruption and restore Liberia\u2019s lost image in the comity of nations. Boakai restated<\/a> that in his first State of the Nation Address.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last month, Boakai appointed<\/a> Kruah, a stalwart of the Movement for Democracy and Reconstruction whose support was instrumental in the Unity Party\u2019s victory in last year\u2019s elections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kruah is expected to appear before the Liberian Senate for confirmation. If confirmed, his job would be to prosecute individuals for alleged wrongdoings, sign concessions for Liberia and conduct oversight of several government offices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But desk research, based on official records, United Nations reports and previous investigations by The DayLight reveals that Kruah may not be the right person for the post. It shows Kruah has broken forestry laws repeatedly with impunity, making no efforts to atone for his wrongdoings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kruah has refused to grant The DayLight an interview in each of the two times the newspaper contacted him. He preferred not to be recorded on the matter, which goes against The DayLight\u2019s editorial policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wartime logging<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kruah established Universal Forestry Corporation (UFC) in 1986, holding 25 percent of the company\u2019s shares, according to its article of incorporation at the Liberia Business Registry. One Peter Goankeh held 25 percent while the remaining 50 was outstanding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
UFC was active in the early 1990s and early 2000s when Liberia became known for \u201cconflict timber\u201d or \u201clogs of war.\u201d Warring factions traded timber for weapons in two civil wars that killed an estimated 250,000 people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The trade violated several United Nations arms embargoes on Liberia, leaving the Security Council to impose sanctions on Liberian timber. \u00a0To lift the sanctions, the Liberian government at the time submitted itself to reform led by the UN and national and international civil society organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Following a review of forestry concessions in 2005, the administration canceled all logging contracts, including UFC\u2019s. The review found<\/a> that UFC was not compliant with the industry\u2019s laws and that its contract was not even ratified by the Legislature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As part of the reform agenda, UFC and 69 other companies were expelled from doing logging business in Liberia. That move was further carved in the 2007 Regulation on Bidder Qualifications, which partially debars individuals associated with wartime companies from forestry activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
An Illegal Return<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 2007, UFC amended its legal documents to add new shareholders. Kruah retained five percent shares in the company and the others were distributed among four other people, including former presidential advisor Edward Slangar and two non-Liberians: Jin S. Kyung and B.J. Kim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 2007 and 2008, UFC signed two illegal MoUs with Geetroh in Sinoe and Rock Cess in River Cess for logging rights, respectively, according to a 2018 Global Witness report<\/a>. The communities had not gotten their community forestry status when the MoUs were signed. A 2009 law gives communities the right to enter into contracts with loggers upon the approval of the FDA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Three years later, Kruah hustled his way back into the sector. The Forestry Development Authority (FDA) ignored UFC\u2019s wartime activities and its qualification regulation. UFC acquired two private use permits and logging rights granted for private lands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But a two-year investigation<\/a> by Global Witness, the Sustainable Development Institute and Save My Future Foundation found UFC and other companies were illegally awarded the permits. It became known as the Private Use Permit (PUP) Scandal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A government-backed inquest uncovered a lot of irregularities with UFC\u2019s PUPs. It\u00a0found that UFC did not follow any legal processes, did not obtain an environmental permit and that fraudulent persons had posed to be the landowners of its contract areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It also found that UFC made payments into a personal bank account, its Grand Bassa PUP area was larger than the actual land size and the one in Sinoe was issued for communal, not private land.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A UN Security Council report revealed<\/a> that UFC\u2019s Sinoe permit covered the same area as Atlantic Resources, another company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For the second time in its history, UFC\u2019s permits were canceled alongside 62 others. The Managing Director of the FDA Moses Wogbeh was dismissed and prosecuted for his involvement in the scandal. A moratorium on the issuance of PUPs remains in force to this day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Conflict of Interest<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
There is no public record of UFC\u2019s activities after the PUP Scandal. However, UFC returned in 2020 with an agreement with the Sehzueplay Community Forest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kruah was the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications while serving as a shareholder and secretary of UFC\u2019s board of directors when the agreement was signed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That violated the National Forestry Reform Law of Liberia<\/a> and the Code of Conduct for Public Officials<\/a>. Both laws prohibit a government official from conducting logging activities. The violations were the subject of an investigative series<\/a> by The DayLight in 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kruah tried to cover up his conflict of interest<\/a> but ended up committing more wrongdoings. A 2019 document he claimed to be UFC\u2019s amended article of incorporation was not recorded at the business registry as required by law. Also, UFC\u2019s tax history at the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA) did not show it paid taxes for the amendment. UFC\u2019s legal document at the business registry still carries Kruah and his five percent shares.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/stage.thedaylight.org\/wp68\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Image-2024-02-06-at-15.18-1024x654.jpg\")
On the left is the real article of incorporation of Universal Forestry Corporation (UFC). On the right is the fake one Justice Minister-designate Cooper Kruah presented in 2022. \u00a0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n Moreover, the content of UFC\u2019s so-called amended article cemented the evidence of the document\u2019s fakeness. The document misspelled the name of Kruah\u2019s son. Instead of \u201cPrince M. Kruah,\u201d it read \u201cPrince M. Kuah.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- UFC persisted with its offenses, abusing the rights of local people, conducting illegal harvesting and transport<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- Kruah presented a fake document, which misspells his son\u2019s name, to cover up his conflict of interest<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- Later, UFC signed an agreement with a community forest in Nimba. Then the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications, Kruah remained one of its shareholders\u2014a violation of the Code of Conduct for Public Officials and forestry\u2019s legal instruments<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- UFC was involved in the infamous Private Use Permit Scandal in which it illegally received two permits at the detriment of local communities<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- UFC crept its way back into the sector\u2014with assistance from forestry authorities\u2014and continued its illegal activities<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- Kruah\u2019s Universal Forestry Corporation (UFC) was debarred from forestry in 2006, based on the United Nations Security Council\u2019s recommendation<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/stage.thedaylight.org\/wp68\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/UFC-Logs.png\")