Where Did the Money Go? GAC Uncovers Financial Chaos Inside Liberia’s Tax and Revenue System Over US$1.7 Billion and Billions of Liberian Dollars Cannot Be Properly Traced

Liberia’s public financial system has been thrown into unprecedented controversy after the General Auditing Commission (GAC) uncovered massive discrepancies, questionable reversals, unauthorized withdrawals, weak banking controls, and billions in unmatched tax transactions involving government revenue collected between July 2018 and December 2024.

The explosive Special Reconciliation Audit Report released by Auditor General P. Garswa Jackson describes a deeply broken revenue accountability system within key state institutions including the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP), the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA), and the Central Bank of Liberia (CBL).

In one of the strongest audit conclusions possible, the GAC issued an “Adverse Conclusion,” declaring that Liberia’s government revenue reconciliation system failed to comply with the country’s financial management laws and internationally accepted accountability standards.
The report paints a frightening picture of a government revenue system plagued by missing records, unmatched transactions, unexplained reversals, undocumented withdrawals, delayed remittances, poor internal controls, and incomplete audit trails involving staggering sums of public money.

According to the audit, revenue totaling US$257.5 million and over L$23.6 billion recorded in government transitory bank accounts could not be traced to the General Revenue Accounts (GRA). At the same time, another US$165.7 million and over L$10.9 billion recorded in the General Revenue Accounts could not be traced back to the transitory accounts.

Even more alarming, auditors discovered that tax revenue receipts amounting to a staggering US$1.789 billion and over L$54.3 billion recorded in the Tax Administrative System (TAS) could not be traced to the General Revenue Accounts. Similarly, US$1.372 billion and more than L$68.3 billion recorded in the General Revenue Accounts could not be traced back to the TAS.

The GAC further revealed unexplained variances amounting to US$373.9 million and over L$16.7 billion after attempting to reconcile matched and unmatched transactions between the TAS and the General Revenue Accounts. Auditors said the inconsistencies were so severe that reconciliation efforts became extremely difficult due to weak documentation and incomplete transaction details.

The report also uncovered serious irregularities in ASYCUDA and LITAS  the systems used for customs and tax processing. According to auditors, bills reconciled against payments in ASYCUDA resulted in variances exceeding US$63.9 million, while several payments lacked receipt numbers entirely. Auditors additionally disclosed that they could not reconcile bills and payments in LITAS because the currencies used for assessment transactions could not even be determined.

In another troubling discovery, revenue receipts amounting to over US$26 million recorded in ASYCUDA could not be traced to the Tax Administrative System, while another US$68.5 million recorded in TAS could not be traced back to ASYCUDA. Auditors also found several receipts carrying identical receipt numbers but reflecting different amounts in both systems  a serious red flag in any public revenue structure.

The audit additionally exposed unauthorized withdrawals from government transitory accounts totaling US$59,786 and over L$551,000 categorized under vague descriptions such as “other debits,” “school fee deducted,” and “suspended fees payment online transfers.” Auditors said they could not properly classify or justify those transactions.

Further deepening the scandal, the GAC identified negative debit transactions amounting to more than US$301,000 and over L$67.2 million posted to government accounts without evidence linking them to original transactions or adjustments.

Auditors warned that the absence of proper explanations made it impossible to validate the authenticity of those entries.

The report also highlighted suspicious reversal transactions involving over US$16 million and more than L$501 million in transitory accounts, as well as another US$37.4 million and over L$1.9 billion in General Revenue Accounts. Auditors said the original transactions connected to those reversals could not be identified because descriptions on bank statements were incomplete and lacked sufficient details.

One of the most shocking findings in the report involves the failure of commercial banks to remit government revenues within the required 24-hour timeline. 

According to the GAC, remittances from transitory accounts to the General Revenue Accounts were delayed between three and twenty-four days, in direct violation of Memoranda of Understanding signed between the Liberia Revenue Authority and commercial banks.
The audit also exposed severe weaknesses in rural tax collection systems across Liberia.
 
Auditors found no evidence that modern automated systems such as ASYCUDA and LITAS had been properly expanded and operationalized in rural customs and tax collectorates. Instead, taxes were reportedly manually billed, collected in cash, and held by tax collectors for prolonged periods before being deposited in bulk transactions.

The GAC warned that the practice creates dangerous opportunities for manipulation, concealment, theft, and diversion of public funds because multiple tax payments are later reported as single bulk entries, making individual transactions difficult to trace or verify.

In another alarming revelation, auditors found no evidence of a formal government revenue reconciliation policy framework clearly defining the roles and responsibilities of the MFDP, LRA, and CBL. The report further stated that transaction narratives across the systems were incomplete and lacked critical details including taxpayer names, tax identification numbers, payment purposes, and tax periods.

Auditors additionally disclosed that transitory government accounts maintained unswept balances exceeding US$898,000 and more than L$60.7 million as of January 2024, while additional balances exceeding US$574,000 and nearly L$59 million remained in the accounts by December 2024. Shockingly, the accounts reportedly remained open even after the audit exercise.

The GAC also identified several instances of excess bank charges imposed on government transitory accounts by commercial banks in violation of agreements signed with the Liberia Revenue Authority.

The report now raises disturbing national questions about the integrity, transparency, and reliability of Liberia’s entire revenue collection and management system during the audit period. With billions of dollars and Liberian dollars trapped in unmatched transactions, unexplained reversals, undocumented withdrawals, and weak reconciliation systems, the audit is expected to intensify pressure on the Boakai administration, lawmakers, anti-corruption institutions, and international partners to demand accountability and urgent financial reforms.

For many Liberians, the findings represent more than accounting failures they expose a dangerous breakdown in the systems designed to protect public money at a time when ordinary citizens continue to struggle with poverty, unemployment, poor healthcare, and collapsing public services.