Monrovia, Liberia — The Clar Hope Foundation has publicly responded to a statement issued by the Asset Recovery and Property Retrieval Taskforce (AREPT), clarifying that its ongoing court action is not an attempt to block accountability but a legal challenge to what it describes as an unlawful subpoena.
In a statement released under the heading “For Immediate Release,” the Foundation said it does not dispute the State’s authority to investigate public assets and has never claimed immunity from lawful scrutiny. Instead, it emphasized that its case before the court is narrowly focused on the legality of a Subpoena Duces Tecum issued at AREPT’s request.
According to the Foundation, the subpoena was “procedurally defective, ultra vires, and issued in violation of established legal process.” It argued that while AREPT sought the court’s authority to obtain evidence, the manner in which the subpoena was issued allegedly breached constitutional due-process safeguards.
“The Foundation’s objection therefore arises not from resistance to inquiry,” the statement said, “but from the use of judicial process to obtain evidence through an unlawful and overbroad instrument.”
Clar Hope Foundation further cautioned that public interest arguments cannot cure constitutional violations, stressing that accountability and transparency must operate strictly within the bounds of the law. It also rejected the suggestion that a wider, non-selective investigation involving multiple institutions could legitimize what it considers an illegal subpoena.
While reaffirming its willingness to cooperate with any investigation conducted in line with due process and statutory authority, the Foundation warned against what it termed the “normalization of extra-legal or constitutionally defective subpoenas under the guise of asset recovery.”
The matter is now before the Honorable Court, where the Foundation says the legality of the subpoena and the evidence sought will be determined. Until then, it called on all parties to exercise restraint and respect due process.
“Seeking accountability without legality is arbitrariness. Transparency without due process is coercion,” the statement concluded. “The rule of law must begin with those who enforce it.”
The statement was signed by Jackson Paye Gbamie, General Manager of Clar Hope Foundation.
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