Former Amb. Victor Foh Clears the Air

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Sierra Leone’s former Ambassador to China, Victor Bockarie Foh has clarified to the Global Times that he never authorized the withdrawal and/or transfer of funds from a special bank account opened on 8th December, 2014 at the Bank of China for the sole purpose of receiving donations for the Ebola epidemic and other donations made to the Government and People of Sierra Leone.

According to Ambassador Victor Foh, the only authorized person mandated to sign cheques and make withdrawals from that special account was the Head of Chancery at the time, Mr. Unisa Sahid Kamara.

Ambassador Victor Foh said that he has never set eyes on the statement of account because he had no interest in how the account was managed.

He described Mr. Unisa Sahid Kamara as “a very senior Civil Servant” whom he expected to be accountable to his bosses at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in Freetown through quarterly Mission reports.

Ambassador Foh clarified that he did not even know how much was paid or withdrawn from that account because the Head of Chancery was the sole authorized person to handle it.

In an exclusive interview with the Global Times in Freetown yesterday, Ambassador Foh said that he came to Freetown from Beijing in March 2015 to witness the official handing-over of about fifty ambulances donated to the Government and People of Sierra Leone by the Chinese Government.

He said it was during his brief official visit to Freetown that President Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma begged him to take up the office of Vice President after the substantive holder Chief Sam Sumana was sacked by President Koroma.

Ambassador Foh noted that he was never given the opportunity to write a formal handing-over note for his successor because he never returned to China after his appointment as Vice President of the Republic of Sierra Leone on 19thMarch, 2015. Ambassador Foh clarified that he was never officially recalled or withdrawn from his Ambassadorial duties in China.

Ambassador Victor Foh was reacting to a story in the Global Times, which disclosed the discovery of an undisclosed bank account in the name of the Sierra Leone Embassy in China.

The current Ambassador in China, Ernest M. Ndomahina, in a letter dated 11th August, 2020 informed the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the existence of an undisclosed bank account which details were never disclosed to him when he took over as Ambassador to China in 2018.

Meanwhile, the ACC has questioned the former Head of Chancery and sole signatory to the undisclosed account at the Bank of China, Unisa Sahid Kamara and he has been released on bail. The ACC is expected to interview Ambassador Victor Bockarie Foh in the presence of his lawyers today.

Investigations continue.

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