The Central Bank of Liberia (CBL) has denied allegations being levied by a Portuguese National claiming US$10M owed him by the bank.
The bank believes the Portuguese National’s claim may have fallen prey to a grand scam, something the “bank is far from doing”.
“CBL describes as a victim of an apparent grand scam, the Portuguese national who claims the Bank failed to transfer to him $10,000,000.00 (Ten Million United States dollars) after he reached an alleged agreement with unidentified Liberian institutions for a real estate development project in Liberia”.
The Bank outlined that on June 26, 2024, Joao Miquel Amaro Correia addressed a letter of complaint to several government officials and civil society organizations, calling for an investigation of two senior CBL officials who he claimed, refused to complete the transfer of the funds and engaged in actions that sabotaged the purported agreement.
A release issued by the Bank on Sunday, August 25, 2025, noted that following a careful review of Mr. Correia’s complaint, the CBL identified several inconsistencies and falsehoods that cast doubts over the allegations against the two CBL officials.
CBL continued by indicating that the Portuguese claim has no foundation for a logical conclusion.
“In a lengthy email pasted to the letter of complaint, Mr. Correia also made wide-ranging assertions that do not establish any foundation for a logical conclusion to support his allegations.”
The bank stated that contrary to Mr. Correia’s claims, the CBL clarifies that its policy does not allow the Bank to make payments based on agreements reached between private parties or businesses.
According to CBL, the two individuals named by Mr. Correia as secretaries to the CBL officials he alleged to have interacted with, are not within the employ of the Bank, thereby making it appear that he was misled into believing that he was doing business with staff of the CBL.
“Mr. Correia also failed to name the Liberian institutions that he reached an agreement with for a real estate project in Liberia.”
The CBL believes that the inconsistencies raise significant questions about the credibility of Mr. Correia`s allegations.
The CBL re-emphasizes its commitment to ensure secured financial transactions as required by the laws of Liberia.
Meanwhile, the CBL strongly cautions the public to not only take precautions against scams but to also desist from any acts of falsely representing to be doing business in the name of the CBL.
