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Stolen Pay: Massive Wage Scandal Exposes AFL and LNP Leadership at Bea Mountain

  • Writer: Michael T
    Michael T
  • Jul 26
  • 4 min read
AFL Chief of Staff Forleh and LNP Inspector General Coleman
AFL Chief of Staff Forleh and LNP Inspector General Coleman

Multiple AFL and ERU officers who have served at Bea Mountain confirm that while the company transfers substantial security payments—reported to be as high as $1,850 per month for AFL and $800 per month for ERU per officer—those on the ground receive only a fraction. Officers state their direct supervisors and command staff deliberately keep the true amount secret, making arrangements directly with company management and providing little transparency or recourse for those assigned to the mine.


The scale of the wage gap is extreme: AFL officers receive just $300 out of $1,850, meaning 83.8% of their pay is taken away, while ERU officers get only $200 out of $800, losing 75% of what is due to them. These figures come from firsthand accounts.


This discrepancy exposes the systematic wage diversion in which leadership allegedly withholds most of the compensation meant for security personnel, forcing them to endure hazardous work for little reward. Attempts to ask about these arrangements have led to punishment, even jail, reinforcing a climate of fear and silence. Instead of serving as state protectors, AFL and ERU officers at Bea Mountain find themselves used as private security for the mining company while being deprived of the majority of their promised pay. This staggering level of exploitation is alarming and demands an urgent audit and real accountability for those responsible.


“No one would believe the arrangement if they saw our pay slips,” an officer explained, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation. “The company pays the government or our leaders a big amount for each of us. But we are only given the smallest portion, barely enough to survive."


The officers describe being relegated to private bodyguard work and, occasionally, labor usually reserved for company contractors. “We were there, but not working for Liberia—we were working for Bea Mountain,” says another officer. “Our uniforms gave some cover, but we were truly protecting a business, not our flag”3.


A culture of silence and intimidation matches the financial exploitation. Soldiers and officers report being threatened with transfer, demotion, or even dismissal for asking about their real salaries or the terms their superiors had arranged. Most simply take what little they are given, hoping to be rotated out before conditions get worse13.


Liberia’s laws criminalize not only wage theft and abuse of office, but also specifically prohibit extortion by public officials:


  • Liberian Penal Law (Title 26), Section 15.50 – Economic Sabotage: “A person has committed economic sabotage if he knowingly:(a) Steals, takes, purloins or converts to his use or the use of another, or, without authority, sells, conveys or disposes of any property, money, or thing of value of the Government…”

  • Liberian Penal Law – Extortion (as amended): While the full verbatim section is rarely cited outside legal compendiums, Liberia defines acts of corruption to “include bribery, embezzlement, extortion, fraud, influence peddling, insider trading, misuse of entrusted public property and vested authority, and any economic and financial crimes which are now provided for under the Penal Code of Liberia, or may, hereafter, be defined and enacted.”

  • Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission Act (2008, as amended 2022): “Acts of Corruption: Bribery, embezzlement, extortion, fraud, influence peddling, insider trading, misuse of entrusted public property and vested authority, and any economic and financial crimes, which are now provided for under the Penal Code of Liberia, or may, hereafter, be defined and enacted.”


These laws collectively make it a criminal offense for any public official—including officers and commanders—to obtain money or benefits from subordinates or the deployment of state resources through coercion, threats, or misuse of authority. Extortion, as both a criminal act and an act of corruption, is expressly banned, punishable by imprisonment and dismissal from office. The scale and secrecy of wage diversion at Bea Mountain thus stand not only as a scandal but as a violation of Liberia’s statutes on economic crimes and extortion13.



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Additional Sources


[1] an act to establish the liberia anti-corruption commission ... https://faolex.fao.org/docs/pdf/lbr202653.pdf

[2] Whistleblowers in Liberia : overview of the legal framework ... https://www.pplaaf.org/wp-content/uploads/Liberia.pdf

[3] A Brief Legislative History of the Liberia Anti-Corruption ... https://www.modernghana.com/news/1173980/a-brief-legislative-history-of-the-liberia-anti.html

[6] [PDF] APPROVED: FEBRUARY 2021. - Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission https://lacc.gov.lr/sites/default/files/documents/Draft-Act-to-Create-the-Corruption-Court.pdf

[7] Extortion (Article 250, PENAL CODE OF TURKEY) - Lewik https://www.lewik.org/term/14880/extortion-article-250-penal-code-of-turkey/

[9] Theft and Extortion under Indian Penal Code https://blog.ipleaders.in/theft-extortion-indian-penal-code/

[11] All about Section 384 of Indian Penal Code, 1860 https://blog.ipleaders.in/all-about-section-384-of-indian-penal-code-1860/

[15] The Penal Code, 1860 | 388. Extortion by threat of accusation ... http://bdlaws.minlaw.gov.bd/act-11/section-3244.html

[19] The Penal Code, 1860 | 383. Extortion - Laws of Bangladesh http://bdlaws.minlaw.gov.bd/act-11/section-3239.html

[20] World Report 2008: Liberia | Human Rights ... https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2008/country-chapters/liberia

 
 
 

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