Sierra Leone’s President, Julius Maada Bio, and his wife, Fatima Jabbe Bio, collectively withdrew a total of over Le30 billion Leones (more than US$3 million) from the Bank of Sierra Leone (BSL), the country’s central bank, for alleged travel expenses in fiscal year 2020 alone, despite bans on international travel due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Dictator – Julius Maada Bio
The
Africanist Press discovered that the more than Le30 billion included a cumulative Le8,684,733,037 (over US $868,000) withdrawn by the President and Le1,847,601,064 (over US$184,00) by Madam Fatima Bio, all in foreign currencies. Two presidential aides, Musa K. Jajua and Mohamed S. Bayoh, withdrew a total of Le11,368,330,000 (over US$1 million). In addition, two SWIFT wire transfers totaling Le2,387,719,500 (about US$238,000) were allegedly used to pay Davis and Dann Limited (a private air charter service company) for round-trip airfare to Lebanon, and another cash withdrawal in foreign currency of over US$400,000.