PAYNESVILLE, LIBERIA – August 11, 2025 — The Asset Recovery and Property Retrieval Taskforce (AREPT) formally launched its first official website on Monday, unveiling what officials described as a vital new platform for transparency and public engagement in the national fight against corruption.
The launch, held at the Golden Key Hotel in Paynesville, brought together government officials, civil society representatives, the media, and cultural performers in a ceremony that blended formality with a spirit of national resolve.
Representing the Minister of Information, Cultural Affairs and Tourism, Hon. Jerolinmek M. Piah, Acting Assistant Minister for Information Services, Mr. Lawrence Fahnbulleh, served as keynote speaker. He hailed the new digital platform as “an essential tool towards informing the public of AREPT’s work,” pledging his ministry’s commitment to partner with the Taskforce’s Media Department in ensuring that critical updates, public notices, and investigative outcomes are communicated swiftly and accurately.
“The public has the right to know what is being done in the fight against corruption,” Fahnbulleh said. “This website ensures that such information will be accessible to all, and the Ministry of Information will work closely with AREPT to keep it that way.”
Vice Chairman Dr. Renney B. Jackson used the occasion to underscore AREPT’s legal mandate, reaffirming that the Taskforce’s mission — to identify, investigate, and recover assets stolen from the Liberian people — remains unchanged despite challenges.
In a detailed address that combined reflection, warning, and a call to action, Chairman Cllr. Edwin Kla Martin outlined the history and progress of AREPT. He recounted its creation in 2024 under Executive Order No. 126, the political and legal resistance it faced, and its reactivation in March 2025 under Executive Order No. 145 by President Joseph Nyuma Boakai.
Cllr. Martin disclosed that AREPT has already secured its first indictment and is preparing three more under a major investigative sweep code-named Operation Bushfire. These cases, he said, involve substantial stolen assets, fictitious contractual agreements, and properties acquired with misappropriated public funds.
“We are bold. We are strong. We are committed to this process,” Martin told the audience. “We will fight corruption despite threats and intimidation. Our duty is to Liberia, and our loyalty is to the truth.”
According to Cllr. Martin, AREPT is actively investigating more than 40 suspicious properties in Liberia and tracking foreign-based assets through cooperation with international partners in the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and Sweden. He credited the Taskforce’s Public Relations Department, led by Joseph Daniels, with spearheading the website project, calling it “a lasting resource for public accountability.”
The Chairman used the moment to advocate for the legislative enactment of AREPT as an autonomous body, noting that the scale of Liberia’s asset recovery effort demands permanence. “This is work that cannot be left unfinished,” he said.
The launch featured a cultural performance by Musical Madrid, adding a note of national pride to the proceedings. Guests were reminded that the new website will not only serve as an information hub but also as a living record of Liberia’s anti-corruption journey.
Quoting Exodus 34:11, AREPT Chairman delivered a pointed reminder to those engaged in corruption:
“Everything that you acquire from corruption, you will not enjoy it. Better respect what the Bible says and do what the Liberian people want.”
As the event concluded, the sentiment in the room was clear: with greater transparency and broader public engagement, AREPT intends to ensure that corruption in Liberia no longer operates in the shadows.
