Top: C&C Corporation’s bush manager, Askew Varney, standing before two earthmovers in Vambo Township, Grand Bassa County. The DayLight/Emmanuel Sherman
By Emmanuel Sherman
MONROVIA – Last November, a Du Port Road resident filed a complaint with the Forestry Development Authority (FDA), claiming a large plot in a Grand Bassa community forest. About a month later, Khalil Haider agreed to bargain with the company contracted for the forest and the townspeople.
But in an interesting twist, Mr. Haider now alleges that Clarence Massaquoi, C&C Corporation’s CEO, forged the bargaining letter from which the FDA approved the company’s operations in the Mavasagueh Community Forest.
“I did not write that letter,” Haider said. “I know nothing about it. “He faked the whole letter and my signature.”
Massaquoi and the FDA did not respond to queries for their side of the story.
Last August, Mavasagueh leased 26,003 hectares of forest to CCC in exchange for development. The forest is owned by communities across Vambo and Marloi Townships in Grand Bassa County’s Compound Number Two.
About three months later, Haider wrote the FDA that he owned 3,200 acres of land in the forest. The problematic plot lies between Mt. Findley and the St. John River, presenting a Tubman-era deed seen by The DayLight.
FDA Managing Director Rudolph Merab encouraged Haider to negotiate with Mavasagueh and C&C, according to Haider and Massaquoi. Haider agreed and consented to CCC’s operation, though such a compromise is not backed by law.
As part of the compromise, Haider requested US$3,500, but Massaquoi gave him US$1,500, which he disclosed was used to settle his hospital bills.
Then something happened. Locals protested for their exclusion from the community forest process, thrusting Mavasagueh under the spotlight. The three-day protest was called off after the police, Representative Clarence Banks of District 2, and county officials intervened.
To understand the problem, Banks secured Haider’s letter, which was sent to the FDA last year. Haider then realized Massaquoi had allegedly written the FDA in his name. Efforts to reach Banks did not materialize as he is out of Liberia and has not replied to WhatsApp messages.
The controversial letter—obtained by The DayLight—is consistent with a forgery, as it misspells Haider’s full name.
Haider threatened to go to court when he returned from a medical trip. “I will sue C&C [Corporation] for doing this fake thing,” he said.
Haider has rewritten the FDA again on the alleged forgery.
C&C Corporation’s truckloads of timber leaving Vambo Township in mid-March. The DayLight/Ojuku Kangar
“I am writing you to inquire about the letter that I wrote to you on April 16, 2025, complaining about a fake letter that was given to you by the C&C Corporation claiming that I waived all claims against them,” the letter read.
“I have not received any response from your entity,” added the letter, addressed to Merab.
The forgery allegation is the latest in a series of problems associated with Mavasagueh. Besides, Haider, Amos Lewis, a Marshall resident, claims the same plot as Haider. Mavasagueh was established without the participation of neighboring communities. CCC’s contract was illegally approved because Massaquoi, a wartime logger, is barred from forestry, based on the Regulation on Bidder Qualifications. Krish Veneer Industries, a sawmill in Buchanan to which Massaquoi sells Mavasagueh’s logs, is illegitimate.
By law, the FDA is supposed to halt CCC’s operations and reestablish Mavasagueh, including removing the controversial plot. However, the agency has permitted the contract amid mounting illegalities.
This story was a production of the Community of Forest and Environmental Journalists of Liberia (CoFEJ).
Top: Representative Thomas Romeo Quioh of Sinoe County’s Electoral District-1 sits next to an executive of African Finch Logging Limited, a company whose board of directors he admits to being on. Picture credit/Anonymous
By Varney Kamara
MONROVIA – Representative Thomas Romeo Quioh of Sinoe County’s Electoral District-1 has admitted his connection to a shady logging company, while denying it.
Quioh was reacting to a recent DayLight investigation, citing allegations by locals that he co-owned African Finch Logging Limited, a UAE-based firm that has a logging MoU with the Numopoh Community Forest in Sinoe’s Kpayan District. Locals, including county officials, accused Quioh of bribing and intimidating chiefs and elders into signing the document the same day he introduced it.
“As a duly elected lawmaker and a member of the advisory board of directors of the African Finch…, my involvement in forestry-related matters is strictly in the confines of legislative oversight,” Quioh said in a Facebook post last Thursday.
“My position on the advisory board of the forest management committee of the district and a non-voting member of the advisory board of the African Finch…,” Quioh added. He followed up that post with a press conference on Friday.
Quioh’s confession to his African Finch role confirms at least one of the allegations locals made. The investigation cited people who accused the lawmaker of co-owning the company, based on his part in the deal.
By his admission, Quioh is liable for multiple conflicts of interest. First, as a representative, he is a statutory member of Numopoh’s forest leadership. Also, as a lawmaker, he has oversight over the Forestry Development Authority (FDA), which governs the logging sector.
This means that Quioh is caught between performing his duties as a lawmaker and his responsibilities as the director of African Finch’s board.
The Code of Conduct for Public Officials prohibits such conflicts of interest. “No Public official or employee of government should use an official position to pursue private interests that may result in a conflict of interest,” it says. Breaking the code constitutes a penalty, including a reprimand, a fine, or removal from office.
Quioh’s conflicts of interest nullify Numopoh’s contract with African Finch. The National Forestry Reform Law bars Quioh and other officials from playing such a role in a private company. It bars “a person associated through investment, ownership, effective control, or other similar means.”
Board of directors
African Finch’s article of incorporation shows it is a subsidiary of Finch General Trading Limited FZE, another UAE-based company. However, the article does not show the persons who own African Finch or Finch General, a violation of the Beneficial Ownership Regulation. The regulation requires companies to declare their human owners, not just parent companies.
Such shadowy ownership neither denies nor confirms the locals’ allegation that Quioh co-owns the company, The DayLight reported.
Kwadjo Asabre, an African Finch executive, fueled the local people’s allegation. When contacted for the company’s side of the story, Asabre told this reporter to “Speak to [the] Hon.”
Quioh appears to lessen his role in African Finch by falsely suggesting it has an advisory board, instead of a board of directors.
A screenshot of a page in African Finch Logging Limited Inc. shows it is a subsidiary of Finch General Trading FZE, and that it has a board of directors
A board of directors differs sharply from an advisory board, according to Black’s Law Dictionary, a leading global reference for legal definitions. A board of directors is a governing body that supervises a company’s activities with legally binding decisions. In contrast, an advisory board provides expert advice and recommendations that are not legally binding.
Accordingly, Quioh plays a much crucial role in African Finch than he has admitted. This likely explains why Asabre referred this reporter to a lawmaker when the newspaper sought an interview with the company.
Quioh claims the newspaper published its story “without [a] proper engagement with his office.” However, the evidence contradicts that claim. The DayLight did contact Quioh and published its article nearly a month later.
On March 20, DayLight reached out to Quioh via WhatsApp with its queries. The next day, in a phone interview, Quioh failed to respond to the queries. Instead, he boasted about his wartime logging experience, ranting at this reporter and hanging up the phone.
“You cannot teach me forestry. You don’t know me. I am one of the longest-serving foresters in this country,” said Quioh, who served as an FDA deputy managing director during Liberia’s deadly civil conflict. He continued the bragging in his press conference and WhatsApp messages to the newspaper.
But wartime foresters are not glorified as Quioh suggests, as they are synonymous with forestry’s darkest era. Logging companies used timber resources to fund warring factions, including forces loyal to the Liberian government. Thus, the phrases “blood timber” and conflict timber” were born, leading to United Nations sanctions in 2003. The sanctions were lifted following rigorous reforms that partially bar wartime loggers from conducting any forestry activities. However, the provision is not being enforced.
Top: Representative Thomas Romeo Quioh whispers to an African Finch Logging Limited executive at a program in Numopoh District, Sinoe County. File picture/Anonymous
By Varney Kamara
Editor’s Note: This is the first of a series on Representative Thomas Romeo Quioh’s involvement with a Sinoe County community forest contract.
NUMOPOH – Sinoe County Representative Thomas Romeo Quioh allegedly bribed locals in Sinoe County to sign a community forest contract with a UAE-based company he appears to co-own. A DayLight investigation also found that the forest was unlawfully extended amid Quioh’s decades-long friendship with the FDA’s Managing Director Rudolph Merab.
Several residents and local officials said Quioh gave thousands of Liberian dollars to Numopoh Community Forest’s leaders, who then distributed the money to community members to endorse African Finch Logging Limited. One person alleged they received the money directly from the lawmaker.
“After the people refused to sign the MoU, then, he (Quioh) carried the [the community forest leaders] behind the house, and we saw them coming back with a black plastic bag filled with money,” said Numopoh’s Commissioner Alfred Harwood. “From this point, the chiefs and other people started signing the document.
“I was sick and did not attend the meeting that day, but afterward, Quioh visited my house and gave me LD5,000, and said I should buy soap,” said Christiana Neoh, Paramount chief of Doboe Chiefdom.
“He also encouraged me to support the company’s entry into our community [forest],” added Neoh.
The residents signed the document the same day it was introduced without making any input. Emmanuel Dapoe, a resident of Kilo Town, said he had to leave the signing ceremony due to his dissent.
Others said Quioh had promised to bring African Finch to the Numopoh when he campaigned for the district’s seat in 2023, which Quioh would clinch after defeating eight other candidates.
“This whole thing is part of that big promise he made to the community during the campaign,” said Alex Sanwon, a prominent Numopoh citizen, in Johnny Town.
The allegations were confirmed by Darius Nagbe, the Superintendent of Kpayan District, where Numopoh falls. In February, Nagbe wrote the Ministry of Internal Affairs, complaining Quioh.
“Representative Thomas Romeo Quioh… singularly took a logging company to the district…,” Nagbe said. He said he was unaware of the company’s presence, and asked Minister of Internal Affairs Sakila Nyumalin to investigate.
A statutory member of Numuoph’s community forest leadership, a representative scrutinizes a logging company wanting to operate there, not negotiate on its behalf. Also, a representative has oversight over the Forestry Development Authority (FDA), which enforces the sector’s laws and regulations.
An official’s involvement with a company or in bribery violates the Code of Conduct for Public Officials, which prohibits inducement and conflict of interest. The code defines bribery as anything promised, offered, given, accepted, or received by a public official for favors in the execution of official duties, including “cold water” or “eating.” It defines conflict of interest as “when a public official, contrary to official obligations and duties to act for the benefit of the public, exploits a relationship for personal benefit.”
Paramount Chief Christiana Neoh of Doboe Chiefdom, Numoph District, said she received L$5,000 from Representative Thomas Romeo Quioh to sign a logging MoU. The DayLight/Varney Kamara
Moreover, any inducement or intimidation violates the locals’ right to consent, guaranteed in several national and international laws, including the Land Rights Act and the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. These instruments provide that local people must be free to accept or reject a contract.
Quioh did not respond to the bribery claim and other allegations. In a phone interview, he appeared to accuse The DayLight of blackmail while ranting at this reporter.
“You cannot teach me forestry. You don’t know me. I am one of the longest-serving foresters in this country,” said Quioh.
“I know my rights, I know what I did. I’m not a kid.”
“Publish your story in the sky,” he added, hanging up the phone.
Sam Kandie, Numopoh’s chairman, who had celebrated the African Finch deal in a previous interview, did not respond to The DayLight queries.
‘Speak to the Hon.’
The allegation that Quioh led African Finch’s negotiation with Numopoh appears to be backed by photographs of the signing ceremony. In one photograph, the lawmaker is seen whispering to an African Finch representative sitting next to him. Another shows the two men sitting and watching as the ceremony unfolded.
Due to his alleged involvement with African Finch, locals believe Quioh co-owns African Finch. Kwadjo Asabre, African Finch’s CEO, appeared to corroborate that claim when he recommended that The DayLight contact Quioh on company matters. “Speak to [the] Hon..,” Asabre wrote in a WhatsApp interview.
Meanwhile, African Finch’s legal documents do not rule out the possibility that Quoih is its owner. Established last year, African Finch is a subsidiary of Finch General Trading FZE, located in Ajman, UAE, according to its article of incorporation. Finch General Trading primarily focuses on mining, engineering, and agricultural products.. However, the Liberia Business Registry has no record of African Finch’s beneficial owners.
Such a shady ownership structure violates Liberia’s Beneficial Ownership Regulation and renders African Finch ineligible to do business in Liberia. The 2023 regulation requires Liberia-registered businesses to declare their beneficial owners—the person or people who own them. This rule safeguards against transnational crimes such as money laundering, terrorist financing, and tax evasion.
The DayLight has written the Ministry of Commerce & Industry and the Liberia Business Registry about African Finch’s unlawful registration. The Registry is obligated to reject companies with hidden shareholders, while the Ministry supervises the Registry’s functions.
A forest in Sinoe County, southeastern Liberia. The DayLight/Derick Snyder
‘Rudolph is my friend’
But the hidden ownership is not the only violation associated with the African Finch deal.
July last year, Numopoh asked the FDA to cancel its agreement with Delta Timber Corporation, which had previously illegally operated in the forest. About two months later, the FDA granted the request and advised the community to select a new investor.
Numopoh did, but this time, the FDA expanded its size from 7,220 hectares to over 18,000 hectares without the participation of neighboring communities. The company has even started checking trees for possible harvesting.
“I only got to know about the expansion from the signed MoU when somebody posted it on social media,” said Kwankon Saytue of Tartweh-Drapoh Community Forest.
The 2017 Community Rights Regulation guarantees neighboring communities the right to participate in the demarcation and mapping of community forests. There is even a handbook that the USAID funded for that.
Land and forest rights campaigners criticized the extension.
“These are forest communities that were already created by metes and bounds. Their exclusion is not only impractical but also illegal,” said Borwen Sayon of The Nature Compact, a Montserrado-based NGO involved with natural resource management and development.
The illegal expansion could heighten tension in that area. Numopoh and the Do-Wolee township currently have an unresolved boundary dispute that has stalled Golden Veroleum Liberia’s palm plantation there for years.
In all, it appears African Finch is exploiting Quioh’s relationship with the FDA Managing Director, Rudolph Merab. Quioh and Merab have been friends for decades. “When I come to the FDA, I feel at home away from home. FDA is my baby,” Quioh said at Merab’s induction in February last year. Rudolph and myself have 36 years of relationship. I am happy to be here as a friend of Rudolph.”
Not just the Liberia Business Registry, the FDA is also under legal obligation to check a forestry company’s eligibility. The Regulation on Bidder Qualifications requires the agency to reject any company whose owner is a lawmaker. This cannot be done with a company whose owners are unknown.
The FDA did not answer questions on the Numopoh extension and the African Finch’s owners. Last month, The DayLight asked the FDA for information on the Numopoh-African Finch contract, as the information was not on the FDA’s website as required by law. However, that request was denied.
CORRECTION: This version of the story corrects a previous version that named African Finch as Africa Finch.
Top: Ben and Bennetta Wesseh run a timber smuggling business. Picture credit: Facebook/Ben Wesseh
By James Harding Giahyue
MONROVIA – On June 30 last year, Panther, a Liberian-registered container ship, docked at a port in Shanghai, China. Among its cargo was 21.37 cubic meters of timber from the Freeport of Monrovia. The wood had left Liberia on May 31, transiting in Abidjan, Ivory Coast for nine days before its final voyage to the Chinese southern shoreline.
The company shipping the wood was Liberia Export & Import Expert Inc., a Liberian firm owned by Ben Wesseh, a veteran customs broker. The consignment came from 613 pieces of wood that had been harvested in River Cess County, according to a permit authorizing the shipment.
The Shanghai shipment was one of several Liberia Export & Import Expert Inc. made in the last 14 years outside Liberia’s legal channel for timber export or “LiberTrace.” A February DayLight investigation found Mr. Wesseh and his daughter Benetta Ben Wesseh forged the permit and another document to smuggle the timber, which they denied. Now, the newspaper has found additional evidence, providing more details of the Wessehs world of illegal timber trafficking.
56 exports in eight years
Mr. Wesseh formed Liberia Export & Import Expert Inc. on April 11, 2011, to export timber, minerals, and other things, based on its article of incorporation and business registration certificate. He holds 60 percent of the company’s shares, with the remaining outstanding, while Ms. Wesseh runs the business.
Export data gathered by Volza, a UAE-based international trade firm shows that Liberia Export & Import Expert Inc., owned by Ben Wesseh, shipped 56 times between 2011 and 2019.
Records from the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, the Liberia Revenue Authority, and a shipping line show that the Wessehs exported timber multiple times in the last three years. The records further establish that they made two shipments in 2022 to a Taiwanese manufacturer called Strong Industrial Co. Ltd. The ministry’s records also show that a second consignment went to the same buyer. Also, the date on the first shipment matches the one on the ministry’s record.
But there were other exports than just those three, a lot more.
As of 2019—eight years after establishing their company—the Wessehs had exported timber and other goods 56 times, according to Volza, a UAE-based company that researches international trade data from over 90 countries.
Of that number, 47 went to Uganda to an individual named Chriss Bakara, four to India for a firm called Rajneesh Enterprises, and four to the United States for an individual named Makulah Kromah. A lone export went to Vietnam for Thanh Hoa Mineral Joint Stock Company. Freeport, opposite City Builders—the Wessehs’ business address in the Volza system—was consistent with the address in their company’s legal documents.
The evidence shows the Wessehs traded expensive ironwood, the type used in outdoor construction and shipbuilding for their resistance to wear and tear. Volza documented that the Wessehs’ lone Vietnamese export was 20 cubic meters of tali (Erythrophleum ivorense), a wood used for frameworks that are exposed to bad weather.
Volza’s data on the Wessehs were the same as the ones compiled by ImportKey, a firm that tracks American shipments, and Trademo, a US-based company that provides supply chain intelligence.
Amid the Wessehs company’s well-documented export history, there is no trace of Liberia Export & Import Expert Inc. in LiberTrace, Liberia’s legal channel for the timber trade. A LiberTrace search screenshot shows the company is not registered there, proof it has never used the system before.
This violates several laws and regulations, including the Regulation on Establishing a Chain of Custody System, meant to prevent illegal Liberia timber from entering international markets. By doing so, the Wessehs evaded a significant amount of taxes, including land rental, harvesting, transfer, stumpage and other fees.
Fake Document
Finding additional evidence of the Wessehs’ illegal activities was much harder than detecting the forgery of the Forestry Development Authority (FDA) and the Ministry of Agriculture’s documents to smuggle the Shanghai consignment.
The newspaper began with the FDA document. First, it was addressed to Benetta Ben [Wesseh] but greeted her as “Mr. Ben.” Then it was signed by Mike Doryen in July 2024, five months after he had been replaced by Rudolph Merab as the FDA Managing Director. It miscounted the period July 25 – September 25 as 45 days, instead of 60 days. Turns out, a revenue receipt number detailed in the permit had been issued to one Albert Chie, perhaps not the Grand Kru senator, who denied knowledge of it or any affiliation with the Wessehs.
The Wessehs did a better job faking a phytosanitary certificate, a document that certifies that timber being exported is pests-free. Though the certificate is a requirement for timber export or import, it is rarely issued, based on The DayLight’s review of several companies’ tax histories.
Armed with that information, the newspaper contacted the quarantine department at the Ministry of Agriculture, which issues such certificates. Unsurprisingly, the department denied it issued the Wessehs the document.
“I want to categorically state here that this document is fake,” said Lawrence Massaquoi, the deputy director of the quarantine department. “I did not issue this certificate. People are using our names to carry on these criminal acts.”
Other evidence suggested that the Wessehs sold the forged documents to other potential smugglers. A screenshot of a WhatsApp conversation between Mr. Wesseh and an individual reveals Mr. Wesseh solicited over US$1,350, including US$325 for a pair of FDA documents and US$75 for a phytosanitary certificate.
Liberia has one of the world’s fastest deforestation rates due to illegal activities. The DayLight/James Harding Giahyue
The DayLight obtained audio recordings of those unscrupulous deals. In one recording, Ben Wesseh provided details of forged documents he had sent to a potential customer. His count of the documents matched the ones The DayLight obtained.
“I sent the FDA paper for you first. Then, I sent the agriculture paper two or three times,” Mr. Wesseh can be heard saying.
Interestingly, Liberia Export & Import Expert Inc.’s tax history shows that the Wessehs have only paid three times for timber exports. They also paid for a phytosanitary certificate once. The timber payments occurred in 2017, and the certificate two years after.
No Actions
The Wessehs’ illegal activities contribute to Liberia’s deforestation, one of the highest in the world. From 2002 to 2023, Liberia lost 347,000 hectares of primary forest, according to the Global Forest Watch, which tracks global deforestation. In that same period, River Cess— where the Shanghai-bound timber were harvested—lost 28,000 hectares of primary forest.
Mr. Wesseh did not turn out for a scheduled interview. However, in a February WhatsApp interview, Ms. Wesseh denied any wrongdoing. “First of all, our company has never and will never get involved with fraud or exploiting [the] government,” said she.
“Take care.” She and her father locked their Facebook profiles, where the newspaper had gotten their pictures.
It has been about two months since the Wessehs were first exposed, yet authorities have not acted significantly. The DayLight has written the National Customs Brokers Association of Liberia (NCBAL), the FDA and the Ministry of Agriculture. However, none has taken any actions, except that the ministry lodged a complaint with the NCBAL.
Top: Logs appear undersized and spread out, with an earthmover in the background. The DayLight/Ojuku Kangar
By Emmanuel Sherman
Editor’s Note: This is the third part of a series on the illegalities of a new community forest in Grand Bassa County.
VAMBO, Grand Bassa County – Early last month, The DayLight started a series on a newly established community forest, documenting a string of illegalities involving the Forestry Development Authority (FDA) and a logging company.
So far, the series has published evidence that the FDA illegally established the Mavasagueh Community Forest in Compound Number Two, Grand Bassa County. The agency approved Mavasagueh’s logging contract with the C&C Corporation (CCC), owned by an ineligible logger, Clarence Massaquoi, who also, manages an illegitimate sawmill in Buchanan.
The DayLight has, however, gathered additional evidence of the FDA’s breach of forestry’s legal provisions, cementing initial findings of the regulator’s wrongdoings.
‘Embarrassing’
Twenty-four out of 39 or nearly 40 percent of the communities that own Mavasagueh participated in an environmental and social impact assessment conducted on the community forest, according to a report. The study, which took place between October and November last year, after the FDA awarded Mavasagueh a community forest status, shows the signatures of representatives of the participating towns.
A legal requirement for logging contracts, the report clearly shows that 15 towns and villages were left out of the process, including Gblorso Town and others in the Vambo Township, which hosts a large portion of forest in that area.
This evidence confirms a previous finding that many communities did not participate in Mavasagueh’s formation. Townspeople alleged that ex-Vambo Commissioner Daniel Dayougar handpicked members of Mavasagueh’s leadership, with some unaware of their roles. Dayougar, who was involved with another bogus deal in 2020, denies the allegation.
Civil society organizations flagged those issues when they reviewed Mavasagueh’s documents last year. They asked that the FDA ensure people participate in the boundary process. Residents The DayLight interviewed corroborated the findings.
Mavasagueh Community Forest supposedly overlaps 3,200 acres of private land. Picture credit: James Giahyue
The new evidence shows the forest’s original name, Vambo-Marloi, was changed to Mavasagueh, a play on Marloi, Vambo, Gorzoah and Sawbein. Like Vambo, Marloi is a township, while Gorzoah and Sawbein are clans.
The name Mavasagueh remains an issue, though.
“The combined name is embarrassing to every one of us,” said Nathaniel Clarke, Commissioner of Vambo Township. “We were not combined with any other forest.
The FDA did not answer why Vambo-Marloi, the name recorded in last year’s forestry sector review, was changed to Mavasagueh. The regulator did not respond to the newspaper’s questions, for this story or previous parts of this series.
A 2018 letter
The first part of this series established that the FDA ignored a claim laid by Khalil Haider, a resident of Monrovia, to 3,200 acres of land between the St. John River and Mt. Findley, which overlaps Mavasagueh’s 26,003 hectares. A Google Earth map of the area Haider’s claim falls within in the first compartment CCC intends to operate.
Then a second person Amos Lewis, a resident of Marshall, Margibi, is also claiming the same plot as Haider. Like Haider, Lewis has informed the FDA about his claim. Both men have presented a Tubman-era deed to substantiate their claim.
Lewis and Haider’s claims are sufficient for the FDA to call off the contract between Mavasagueh. The community forest handbook requires the FDA to investigate and potentially slice the problematic plot from the community forest. The claims prove that the demarcation and mapping of Mavasagueh was not participatory.
Mechanics standing by a CCC earthmover parked for maintenance in Vambo Township, Grand Bassa County. The Daylight/Emmanuel Sherman
The compromise has several implications, according to forestry experts. First, CCC has more forest blocks to cut in a season, as the size of the forest determines the number of blocks. Second CCC can harvest at a faster rate—even, if the company does not cut logs in the area Haider is claiming, since the forest contains the supposedly private plot. Third, Mavasagueh overlaps a private plot, contradicting a community forest’s description: a forest on a community or customary land.
But that is not all. One of the new pieces of evidence is a letter Haider wrote to the FDA in 2018, informing it about his claim to the 3,200 acres.
The letter, obtained by The DayLight, read, “We are getting ready to do some farming projects on our land. But because of the road condition and bridges, we are asking your authority to allow us to market the existing marketable species, which will enable us to generate some funds.” Haider claimed he wrote several other letters to the FDA over the years.
Haider’s letters prove one of two things: First, the FDA ignored his communication. Or the regulator lost it, leading him to write the agency again last year. Notably, this appears to confirm a flawed process, and a finding from last year’s forestry concession review that the FDA did not keep proper records.
An illegal compromise
FDA has sanctioned CCC’s operations despite the mounting illegalities associated with the Mavasagueh-CCC contract.
Photographs and videos shot by The DayLight show apparent undersized logs CCC harvested. The woods are visible in the video spread out in an open field.
Last week the Mavasagueh-CCC contract was read to residents. Though signed in August last year, it was the first time, the townspeople had seen or read the document.
Managing Director Rudolph Merab encouraged CCC and Haider to compromise to avoid the FDA from repeating the process, according to Haider, one of the private land claimants and CCC’s owner Massaquoi.
“I received a call from [Mr. Merab], stating that if I pursued it further, they would have to cancel everything until two to three years before anything,” Haider told The DayLight in January. He added he empathized with Massaquoi because CCC spent a lot of money paving over 15 kilometers of a major road in the community.
This Google Earth map shows Mavasagueh overlaps a supposedly private land, rendering the community forest area unlawful.
“Haider and I settled, and he would work with the community and me so, the FDA should let the document be processed,” Massaquoi told a DayLight interview.
Massaquoi, who conducted a failed logging operation in Grand Cape Mount in the 2010s, covering just 5,000 hectares, is confident of success this time around. He intends to sell logs to Krish Veneer Industries, an illegitimate sawmill in Buchanan he manages. A DayLight investigation found that the Indian-owned Krish is not a corporation, a legal requirement for forestry companies.
As organized as the plan seems, it is not backed by law.
Per the community forest handbook—based on the law—the FDA must “review objections, contact and meet with objectors, and use customary dispute resolution mechanism.” It further requires the FDA to work with the Ministry of Mines and Energy, and the Land Authority to establish a community forest area.
“If required, the FDA and [the] community repeat the demarcation process…”
Top: Men offload chewing sticks at a beachfront in Greenville, Sinoe County in January 2024. File Picture: Anonymous
By Emmanuel Sherman
BARLOME TOWN – A truck with chewing sticks parked near an open field. Some of the sticks lay on the ground. It had been parked for three weeks in Barlome Town on the Grand Bassa-River Cess highway. The sticks had been transported from Nimba County and uploaded there.
“I am waiting for my boss,” said Obed Amoah, an attendant to the 37-ton truck with Ghanaian license plate GR-5774.
Reporters had happened upon a major player in the shadowy world of chewing stick trafficking. In 2021, the Forestry Development Authority (FDA) imposed a moratorium on chewing sticks to curtail the clearcutting of the species. However, The DayLight found evidence, that the FDA has been issuing chewing stick permits amid the moratorium.
The evidence shows that chewing stick pushers pay the FDA at different levels, with poor, rural communities receiving a small portion. The sticks are transported in smaller trucks and are loaded into large trucks similar to the one The DayLight saw in Barlome Town.
Amoah’s boss, Isaac Pyne, pays several fees: an annual registration, a permit license, an export permit, and a waybill—fees for transporting forest products.
Pyne had to travel to Drodonewein, a town in Nimba County to get the sticks. He would mobilize 30 to 40 men to harvest the sticks.
Emmanuel Gibson, youth chairman of Drodonewein, sits on a pile of chewing sticks. The Daylight/Harry Browne
Pyne’s company, Winner Peace and Love Chewing Sticks reached an agreement with Dordonewien for LD40 per stick. The townspeople signed the deal, hoping it would develop the community, as it lacks a hand pump, toilet and clinic.
In all, Pyne harvested 1,000 chewing sticks and made one shipment. However, he has yet to meet all his obligations, having paid the community L$11,360.
“We were thinking we would have gotten the L$40,000 so that we could renovate our peace hall,” said Emmanuel Gibson, the youth chairman of Dordonewein. Pyne acknowledged his debt to the villagers and insisted he would pay the balance.
On commission
Once uploaded into the large truck, Pyne transports the sticks to the border via Pleebo or Laguatuo, and then to Ghana, Togo, or Senegal through the Ivory Coast.
Zebedi Bonwin, another chewing stick businessman in Buchanan, corroborated the route. Reporters had caught up with Bonwin’s truck in a town on the outskirts of Buchanan.
Bonwin revealed he also transported chewing sticks via the sea. “I used the boat one or two times,” he said. Other people The DayLight interviewed in Bassa, River Cess and Sinoe confirmed Bonwin’s sea route account. The newspaper obtained photographs of men offloading chewing sticks on a beachfront in Greenville, Sinoe County.
The DayLight also gathered evidence that chewing sticks and bitter kola are sourced from Bassa, River Cess, Bong, and Lofa, and transported to Guinea. Our reporter visited several locations in the counties, conducting interviews, and photographing warehouses and border crossings.
In Ghana, Pyne sells his sticks to mostly market women in the Ashanti Region of Kumasi, who pay him a commission. The women retail the sticks in shreds, charging US$2.50 or US$3.00 for a pile.
Prominent in African and Asian communities, chewing sticks (Salvadora persica) are used for tooth cleaning and as a herb. With their use dating back to prehistoric times, chewing sticks can be as effective as toothbrushes in removing dental plaque and caries.
A waybill issued by the FDA for 630 pieces of chewing sticks at L$12,600 (US$64) to Winer Peace and Love. File picture: Isaac Pyne
Moratorium
Pyne, Bonwin, and other businesspeople are violating the 2021 moratorium on chewing sticks—with the aid of the FDA.
Pyne provided three receipts that show different kinds of payments to the regulator. One for US$250 dated February 20, 2024, for annual registration. Another one recorded two payments for 630 pieces of chewing sticks with an accumulated volume of 15.908 cubic meters and an export permit fee of US$1,073.70. Two receipts document US$50 for an export license and a waybill of L$12,600. The waybill had been issued at the FDA’s Big Joe Town checkpoint in Grand Bassa on January 17, 2025.
Similarly, two official receipts The DayLight obtained reveal transactions in January last year. The two receipts show L$6,000 and L$9,000 payments to the FDA from one Emma Emmanuel in Greenville Sinoe County.
The regulations require that all forest fees be paid to the government’s account at the Central Bank of Liberia. The measure was installed to safeguard public funds, following decades of mismanagement, which, interestingly, continues today.
Women shred chewing sticks from Liberia in Kumasi, Ghana. File picture: Isaac Pyne
That mode of payment is similar to the one that fueled block wood or kpokolo, heavy and compact timber blocks illegally harvested, containerized and exported via land or sea. Following a decade of facilitating the trade, the FDA finally banned kpokolo in 2022. Last year, the regulator also banned the issuance of a certificate that facilitated the trade, according to minutes of an FDA board of directors meeting in July last year.
Pyne and Bonwin claim the government has lifted the moratorium.
“The FDA said the moratorium is lifted and we are starting again,” said Bonwin, who runs the Garraway Enterprise Inc. in the Buchanan suburb of Lower Harlandsville.
But that claim contradicts the facts. The FDA board meeting’s minutes prove the moratorium remains in place. In the meeting, the board agreed to lift the moratorium only upon a review of the Regulation on Non-Timber Forest Products (NFTPs) for the public to participate, an underlining principle of forestry reform.
“All other certificates signed by the [Managing Director] become null and void,” according to the document. “FDA needs to invite all those involved for a way forward.”
Though the board discussed local and national benefits of lifting the moratorium, there is no evidence the regulation has been reviewed, or a consultation has taken place. The FDA’s website does not have such information. Key civil society actors, including the Botanical Products Association of Liberia, which makes awareness of the protection and trade of NTFPs, said they did not participate in any such event.
Formulated in 2008, the NTFPs regulation covers chewing sticks, charcoal, rattans, bitter kola and other forest products other than timber. It was meant to provide income opportunities for local communities and the government, create awareness of NTFPs, and classify them for research purposes.
But it was not sufficiently community-centric, necessitating a review for a possible amendment or replacement.
“Once the [law] gives the community the right to own, manage, and protect the forest, and non-timber forest products are in the forests,” said Bonathan Walaka of the National Union of Community Forest Management Body.
“So, there should be a kind of benefit-sharing scheme for a community to receive benefits from that.”
Philip Parker, the chairman of the FDA’s Board of Directors, did not reply to questions, and neither did the FDA management. This is the second time Parker, whose duty is to hold the FDA to account, has ignored The DayLight’s inquiries. Similarly, the FDA’s refusal to respond adds to its silence on such matters, and an unwillingness to provide public information.
JOHNNY TOWN, Sinoe County — A community forest in Sinoe County has canceled a contract with a logging company owned by a wartime logger.
Last August, the Forestry Development Authority (FDA) approved the Numopoh Community Forest’s request to terminate the contract with Delta Timber Corporation. The move marked the end of a years-long dispute over unfulfilled promises to local people, and wasted logs.
“[The FDA] is pleased to have you informed that it interposes no objection to your request.,” wrote Managing Director Rudolph Merab in an August letter only recently obtained by The DayLight.
“However, you are advised to identify and select a company that has both the financial and technical capabilities to manage the forest,” added Merab.
Delta signed a Community Forest Management Contract with Numopoh, securing the right to harvest timber from 7,220 hectares of woodland In 2016.
Under the agreement, Delta was required to construct schools and clinics in the district, providing scholarships and creating jobs for citizens.
Furthermore, Delta did not renew the contract after five years in 2021, a legal requirement in community forest agreements.
Gabriel Doe, Delta’s owner and CEO, did not respond to queries for comments on the termination.
The termination of the Numopoh-Delta contract is one of the rare occasions where the FDA acted without an arbitration process as the contract requires. However, several forestry legal instruments give the regulator the right to cancel failing contracts.
Wartime Logger
While the FDA eventually granted the community the legal authorization to terminate Delta’s contract, its decision to previously approve the company’s operations was unlawful.
During the First and Second Liberian Civil Wars, Doe owned Cavalla Timber Corporation, one of 17 logging companies accused of either supporting militias, participating in violence, or facilitating armed conflicts. An estimated 250,000 people died during the wars.
Rotten logs at the Ross Port of Greenville Delta Timber Corporation transferred from Numopoh Community Forest. The DayLight/James Giahyue
In 2001, the United Nations imposed a travel ban and asset freeze on Doe, then-President Charles Taylor, Dutch arms dealer Guss Kowenhoven, and over 100 individuals linked to the Taylor regime.
Two years after the travel ban, the UN sanctioned Liberian logs, aiming to cut the connection between timber revenues and arms smuggling. The sanctions were lifted in 2006, following reforms, leading to the cancellation of Cavalla’s and other companies’ contracts over irregularities.
Subsequently, reformers formulated the Regulation on Bidder Qualifications, which bars individuals involved in the logging industry before 2006, unless they fully and honestly confessed their past actions before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and worked with the FDA to repay stolen funds. No wartime logger ever did that.
But Doe resurfaced about a decade later with Delta, the FDA ignoring the qualification regulation’s war-accountability provision.
Numopoh views the termination as a break from the past, and an opportunity to be in line with the law.
“When [Delta] came here, they refused to consult the community on things they did,” said Sam Kandie, Numopoh Community Forest’s chief officer in an interview in Johnny Town.
“Now, we have taken a collective decision to get rid of Delta. We can only hope this will bring the much-needed development and prosperity to our land.”
Top: Clarence Massaquoi, the owner of Bassa Logging and Timber Company, and co-owner of C&C Corporation. By his admission, Massaquoi worked in the logging sector before January 2006, making him ineligible. The DayLight/Derick Snyder
By Emmanuel Sherman
Editor’s Note: This story is the second part of a series on illegalities associated with a newly established community forest in Compound Two, Grand Bassa County.
Evidence suggests the FDA conducted a flawed process that established the Mavasagueh Community Forest in Bassa
Then a DayLight investigation found several forestry offenses committed and associated with Clarence Massaquoi, the logger authorized to operate the unlawful community forest
Massaquoi owes US$56,550 from a previous contract in Grand Cape Mount, leaving hundreds of logs in the forest to rot
Massaquoi is a wartime logger, which makes his forestry activities and ownership of his companies illegal
Massaquoi is also the Manager of an ineligible forestry company in Buchanan, Grand Bassa
VAMBO, Grand Bassa County – Last August, local people signed a forestry contract with a new company. C&C Corporation (CCC) would conduct logging in the Mavasagueh Community Forest in exchange for hand pumps, roads and other things.
CCC has built a 15-kilometer dirt road through the Vambo and Marloi Townships, where the 26,003-hectare forest lies. The company has begun felling trees after the Forestry Development Authority (FDA) awarded it a harvesting certificate.
While townspeople celebrated the contract, a DayLight investigation established problems with the Mavasagueh-CCC contract. The evidence shows that the FDA skipped some legal steps in granting Mavasagueh a community forest status.
The investigation found that the FDA’s demarcation and mapping of the rocky forest did not involve all the communities as required. It also established that two men are claiming 3,200 acres, or about a fifth of the forest between Mt. Findley and the St. John River, overwhelming proof that authorities did a poor job.
The illegal contract thrusts Massaquoi into the spotlight, exposing his hidden and forgotten offenses, spanning over two decades. It was discovered Massaquoi had illegally acquired a contract, failed that contract and ran an unlawful sawmill.
Failed contract
Mavasagueh is the first contract CCC, established only in 2022, has had. However, it is not the only one for Massaquoi, who has 70 percent of the company’s shares. (One Joseph Varney holds the remaining shares)
Massaquoi has another firm, Bassa Logging and Timber Company, which failed a previous contract in Grand Cape Mount County. In 2009, Bassa Logging signed a contract with locals in the Porkpah and Gola Konneh Districts for 5,000 hectares.
Over five times smaller than Mavasagueh, Bassa Logging subcontracted the Lebanese-owned Alma Wood, though that contract was meant for only Liberian companies.
A broken-down timber jack with a log still attached to it is seen on an open field in Benduma in the Porkpa District of Grand Cape Mount County. The DayLight/James Harding Giahyue
Months before the report, the FDA had terminated the contract and nine others after they lasted over twice their maximum, legal lifespan.
‘Managerial role’
Massaquoi’s contracts with Bassa Logging had been illegally awarded.
By his own admission, Massaquoi operated for future FDA Managing Director Rudolph Merab during the Second Liberian Civil War. “I worked with Merab from 1999 to 2007 in [a] managerial role,” he told The DayLight.
Liberia Wood Management Corporation (LWMC), Merab’s company Massaquoi worked for, was the subject of international investigations.
One report by UK-based Global Witness in 2000 found militiamen loyal to President Charles Taylor guarded LWMC’s facilities. It said Another report LWMC exported over 12,810 cubic meters of logs in the first half of 2000.
Another report established that LWMC enjoyed a US$1.4 million tax holiday from the Taylor regime during the Second Liberian Civil War (1999 – 2003). Merab claims the amount was less than that.
A 2005 review of the forestry sector reported, “At least 17 logging companies either supported militias… or facilitated illegal arms trafficking, or aided or abetted civil instability.” An estimated 250,000 people died during Liberia’s two wars, with President Joseph Boakai signing an executive order months into his administration to establish a war and economic crimes court.
Merab admits working in the Taylor era but denies any wrongdoing. “We never participated in the war, we never supported any members of the war,” Merab would later tell the Associated Press.
But forestry reformers created a deterrent against the logging industry’s contribution to any future crisis, formulating the Regulation on Bidder Qualifications.
The regulation disqualifies anyone who participated in forestry before January 2006, unless they confessed their wartime deeds to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and worked with the FDA on how they would repay stolen funds. There is no record that Massaquoi, Merab, or any other wartime logger did that.
By his admission, Clarence Massaquoi, the majority shareholder of C&C Corporation (CCC) and sole owner of Bassa Logging and Timber Company, is a wartime logger. The DayLight/Derick Snyder
Despite Massaquoi’s involvement in the “blood timber” trade, and Bassa Logging’s letdown, the FDA still qualified CCC. The regulator’s justification for endorsing CCC disregarded the war-accountability provision of the regulation.
The evidence shows that Massaquoi exploited a loophole in the regulation that allows a logger to create another company when a previous one failed. All its debt-related provisions pertain to companies, not their owners or managers.
“A thorough review of records and files available for the past five years…, including the cancelation of concession agreements/contracts, indicates no proof of the existence of CCC,” wrote then-FDA Managing Director Mike Doryen on CCC’s qualification in 2023.
“This instrument, therefore, serves as sufficient testimony… of no breaches of forestry laws or regulations… until otherwise proven,” Doryen added.
Massaquoi now adds to several wartime loggers illegally in forestry, a list that also includes Merab. Merab did not reply to queries for comments.
Plywood Company
A confident Massaquoi said he could operate in Grand Bassa, even after he failed in Cape Mount. CCC, according to an environmental study last year, has over 40 earthmovers and other equipment. The DayLight saw an earthmover along the newly paved dirt road being repaired by mechanics.
“I have eight machines on the road, a motor grader, and bulldozers. I used 700 gallons per two days,” Massaquoi said. “I had done more than 15 kilometers of dirt road and paid salaries while working. You must be financially strong.”
Massaquoi implied he had more business opportunities with CCC than he had with Bassa Logging. He referenced Krish Veneer Industries, a sawmill in Buchanan, Grand Bassa he manages, which exports timber and wood products.
“I can sell to my plywood factory. My buyers are right in Buchanan,” he added.
Mavasagueh Community Forest, which covers 26,003 hectares, overlaps a 3,200-acre private land. New Narratives/James Harding Giahyue
Krish Veneer Industries, which he declined to address, adds another layer to Massaquoi’s hidden or overlooked illegalities.
Krish’s legal documents and business registration certificate prove the company is a partnership. Atique Ahmed and Kamal Parwani, both Indians, hold 57 percent and 43 percent shares in the 2019 company.
The regulation restricts forestry companies to corporations.
The provision is in line with the Public Procurement and Concession Act. It comes from the fact that corporate entities, have limitless liabilities and lifespan, and present more taxable opportunities. Partnerships do not possess such advantages.
Krish is one of the most active companies in a largely dormant logging sector. Last year, it made several exports of round logs and veneer, according to official records. Those exports included 241 logs or 1,243 cubic meters last June.
By the FDA’s standard operating procedure, the regulator is required to verify a company’s legal documents before permitting it to export.
It is unclear whether Krish’s ineligibility went unnoticed or was just overlooked for over five years.
This story was a production of the Community of Forest and Environmental Journalists of Liberia (CoFEJ).
Top: Mr. Ben Wesseh and his daughter Benneta Ben Wesseh, a father-and-daughter duo who forges official documents and smuggles timber out of Liberia. Facebook: Benneta Ben
By Varney Kamara
MONROVIA – The DayLight has obtained forged documents used by an unscrupulous father-daughter duo to smuggle timber out of Liberia. The newspaper also found evidence that the duo solicits money from other individuals.
Ben Wesseh, a customs officer at the Freeport of Monrovia and Benetta Ben Wesseh, his daughter, forged export permits and a log-disinfection certificate to smuggle timber to China.
Based on one of the documents, Ms. Wesseh, a resident of Caldwell, smuggled or attempted to smuggle 21.3 cubic meters of timber blocks known as “Kpokolo” last July. The consignment was part of 613 logs harvested in River Cess.
“You are further requested to work closely with relevant government agencies…who will monitor and supervise the process,” read the forged document.
There were grammatical errors that caught our reporters’ attention. However, the most noticeable evidence of forgery was that the document was purportedly signed by ex-FDA Managing Director Mike Doryen. By July last year, Doryen had been replaced by Rudolph Merab five months earlier.
The validity timeframe of the document was also questionable. It tried to imitate a special export permit the FDA issued for kpokolo that lasted for a year. However, this document lasted for only 45 days.
But the Wessehs did not know that the FDA had stopped issuing such export permits following a “ban” on kpokolo in 2022. However, the illegal trade persists. Recently, another Caldwell syndicate was jailed following two years of investigation.
There were other inconsistencies, though.
The forgers miscounted July 25 to September 25, 2024, as 45 days, instead of 60 days. This and all the other discrepancies show that the Wessehs focused on creating the documents rather than making them look convincing.
The fake timber export permit mentioned identification numbers for two receipts. When reporters checked, the payments had been made for or by two other individuals, including ex-Senate Pro-Tempore Albert Chie. The senator denied knowing the Wessehs.
After unraveling the forged export permit, reporters concentrated on the log disinfection or phytosanitary certificate purportedly issued by the Ministry of Agriculture.
Reporters contacted the quarantine department at the ministry, which issues the certificate, a requirement for all exports that is rarely enforced. Unsurprisingly, the department denied it issued Ms. Wesseh the document.
One of the forged documents, naming ex-FDA Managing Director Mike Doryen as the current head of the institution.
The Wessehs appeared to have done a better job with the certificate than with the export permit but slipped. Turns out, the stamp they used was no longer in use by the department.
“I want to categorically state here that this document is fake,” said Lawrence Massaquoi, the deputy director of the quarantine department. “I did not issue this certificate. People are using our names to carry on these criminal acts. We must get to the bottom of this,” added Massaquoi, who is mentioned on the bogus certificate.
The ministry has launched an investigation into the matter.
‘Take care’
Other evidence suggests that not only Mr. Wesseh supports his daughter but also sells forged documents to other people. In a WhatsApp message to a prospective customer, Mr. Wesseh shared a list of prices for several documents, including US$200 for an export permit and US$75 for a phytosanitary certificate. In all, Wesseh charged 2,370 to smuggle a 40-foot container.
The prices on the document were consistent with what sources familiar with the illegal trade told The DayLight. However, to rule out any alibi, reporters obtained an audio recording that backs up that conversation.
Screenshot of Mr. Ben Wesseh’s WhatsApp chat with an individual.
In the recording, Mr. Wesseh can be heard reinforcing the prices. “I sent the FDA paper for you first. Then, I sent the agriculture paper two or three times.” The pages of the documents matched the details Wesseh had provided.
In another audio recording, Mr. Wesseh can be heard pitching a business proposal to an individual, bragging about having connections at various public offices.
The National Customs Brokers Association of Liberia, of which the Wessehs are members, has launched a separate investigation into the situation.
The Wessehs deny any wrongdoing. After evading all efforts for an interview, Mr. Wesseh and Ms. Wesseh later replied to queries for comments.
The older Wesseh said he did not forge or share the documents and was investigating the matter himself but refused to call his company’s name.
Ms. Wesseh said the same thing.
“First of all, our company has never and will never get involved with fraud or exploiting [the] government. Instead of running with unclear information, the best will be to find the office and speak to us in person,” said Ms. Wessh via WhatsApp.
“Having said this, take care.”
The criminal Wesseh duo bears a striking resemblance to a syndicate comprising custom brokers and two Korean nationals who were jailed in 2022 but never indicted.
Top: Krish Veneer Industries operates illegally in Liberia. The DayLight/Emmanuel Sherman
By James Harding Giahyue
MONROVIA – A DayLight investigation has unearthed a top-level forestry company that does not meet the requirements to operate in Liberia.
Krish Veneer Industries, a sawmill in Buchanan, Grand Bassa County, and an exporter of veneer and round logs, is a partnership, rendering it ineligible to operate. Forestry companies are restricted to corporations, not NGOs, sole proprietorships, or partnerships, according to the Regulation on Bidder Qualifications.
The 2007 provision is in line with the Public Procurement and Concession Act, meant to provide the government with more tax opportunities and predictability. Corporations have limitless liabilities and lifespan, experts say. Partnerships do not.
The provision is part of measures to ensure forest resources are managed commercially sustainably.
Krish’s two partners are Atique Ahmed and Kamal Parwani. Both Indians, they hold 57 percent and 43 percent shares, respectively, according to the company’s legal documents. It was established in 2019, based on its business registration certificate enrolled at the Libera Business Registry.
A screenshot of the relevant provision of the Regulation on Bidder Qualifications prohibits partnerships from conducting forestry activities in Liberia.A screenshot of Krish Veneer Industries’ current business registration certificate, proving that the company is a partnership, not a corporation as it is required of forestry businesses.
‘My plywood factory’
Amid its illegitimacy, Krish has been one of the most active companies in a largely dormant logging industry. Last year, it made several round log exports, according to Ministry of Commerce and Industry and FDA records.
Trade Mo, a US-based company that tracks global supply chains, reports that Krish has imported assorted items 564 times and exported veneer eight times between 2021 and 2024. Those transactions are valued at US$1.2 million. (Derived from trees, a veneer is a thin decorative wood applied to materials).
Clarence Massaquoi, Krish’s general manager, did not return questions about the company’s status. However, in a recent DayLight interview, Massaquoi, whose contract with an unlawful community forest the Forestry Development Authority (FDA) recently approved, referenced Krish.
Addressing his capacity to manage a forest following an unsuccessful previous contract, Massaquoi said, “I have buyers. I can sell to my plywood factory. My buyers are right in Buchanan,” Massaquoi told The DayLight.
FDA Managing Director Rudolph Merab did not respond to queries.
This story was a production of the Community of Forest and Environmental Journalists of Liberia (CoFEJ).
