MONROVIA – The Civil Law Court for the Sixth Judicial Circuit, Montserrado County, has ordered the arrest and detention of several high-profile individuals, including former officials of government and diamond industry players, for their alleged role in the disappearance of a 53.34-carat diamond.
In a ruling delivered on September 26, 2025, by Assigned Circuit Judge His Honor Sianeh Kontoe, the court held that the missing diamond transaction bore the hallmarks of “a criminal cartel knitted in connivance, secrecy, and collusion.” The ruling followed concerns raised over fraudulent certification and ownership documentation issued under the Kimberly Process at the behest of the Attorney General’s opinion.
Judge Kontoe’s findings followed a Supreme Court mandate to investigate the legal irregularities surrounding the seizure and subsequent handling of the diamond. The court concluded that the entire process, including appraisal, certification, and sale under the Kimberly Process, was conducted under the influence of the Attorney General’s opinion, with no transparency or proper documentation.
The ruling described the case as involving “a network of a criminal cartel knitted in the author of connivance, secrecy and collusion.” Judge Kontoe stressed that it was highly unlikely that the diamond could have vanished without the involvement of high-level officials.
Those named and ordered to be held accountable include Cllr. Frank Musa Dean, former Minister of Justice and Attorney General; Gersler Murray, former Minister of Mines and Energy; Mustapha Tounkara, President of the Diamond Dealers Association; Tshaka Connah, also known as Bakat; Emmanuel T.T. Swen; and Korvah Baysah, the appraiser who granted the certificate of origin.
The court said these individuals either directly participated in or facilitated the illegal sale of the diamond outside Liberia. Judge Kontoe noted that Tounkara failed to provide required documentation to establish the diamond’s origin before selling it abroad under instructions from Dean and Murray. Meanwhile, Baysah, who issued the certificate of origin, is accused of concealing vital information about the buyer and the transaction, including how much was paid for the diamond.
The court ruled that unless the named individuals account for the diamond’s whereabouts, they must be arrested and jailed at Monrovia Central Prison. “They shall have been arrested and detained at the Monrovia Central Prison until they shall have found, answered, and detained the Monrovia question,” the ruling declared.
The ruling emphasized that unless the named individuals account for the 53.34-carat diamond, the mandate of the Supreme Court of Liberia regarding the matter cannot be executed. Consequently, they have been held in contempt and ordered confined at the Monrovia Central Prison until further notice.
Judge Kontoe concluded that unraveling the criminal network surrounding the case requires full accountability from all actors involved, stressing that the diamond transaction undermined both the law and Liberia’s international obligations under the Kimberly Process.
