Leaked Document Entangles Labour Minister in Alleged Massive Fraud

Michael T
Jul 1
2 min read

IN PHOTO: Labour Minister Krauh and the list of Chinese he surreptitiously issued Work Permits — **IN PHOTO**: Labour Minister Krauh and the list of Chinese he surreptitiously issued Work Permits

Liberia’s Minister of Labour, Cllr. Cooper Kruah, is facing serious allegations of siphoning more than USD 35,000—funds that should have been directed to government revenue. An investigation assisted by credible sources within the ministry has uncovered that he authorised a series of secret work permit waivers for 42 Chinese mining workers—permits that are reportedly absent from official government records1. Documents available indicate that these waivers were granted to employees of Bangli PTE Limited, a company affiliated with China Union’s operations in Bong Mines, Fuamah District1.

The absence of these permits from the Ministry’s official 2024 registry has prompted renewed calls for greater transparency and accountability1 2. Labour Ministry sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, allege that payments for these permits—over US$800 per worker—were made directly to the Minister or his intermediaries, bypassing official government revenue channels1. While these claims have not been independently verified, the lack of payment instructions or official receipts in the waiver documentation has heightened suspicions about the integrity of the process1.

The Ministry of Labour had previously reported issuing 10,117 work permits in 2024, with Minister Kruah stating that 75% were renewals for expatriates already employed in Liberia before the current administration took office3 4. However, the emergence of unregistered permits has intensified calls for oversight and assurances that Liberian labour laws are being upheld as foreign investment in the resource sector increases2 5.

In conversations with a director and an assistant minister at the Ministry of Labour, officials defended Minister Kruah’s actions, citing Section 45.9 of the Decent Work Act, which empowers the Minister to make regulations regarding the employment of foreign workers4. However, this authority is not absolute. Section 45.1(c) of the Act requires that a work permit for a foreign worker may only be issued if “there is no suitably qualified Liberian available to carry out the work required by the employer.” Regulation No. 17 (2019), Section 6, further mandates that all job vacancies intended for foreign workers must be publicly advertised for at least 30 days, and a certificate of non-availability of qualified Liberians must be issued before a foreign hire is approved4 1. Section 3 of the same regulation prohibits issuing permits to non-African nationals for jobs in the informal sector, which are reserved for Liberians4 1.

These legal safeguards reflect the principle of “Liberianization,” which reserves certain jobs for Liberians and is designed to prioritise local employment6 1. Yet, the current scandal raises critical questions about the effectiveness of these protections when ministerial discretion can be exercised without transparency or robust oversight2 6.

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Leaked Document Entangles Labour Minister in Alleged Massive Fraud

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