Court sets $8 million bail for ex-Weah aide

Criminal Court 'C' at the Temple of Justice in Monrovia has set bail at US$8 million for Nora Finda Bundoo, former chief of protocol to ex-President George Weah, and ordered her immediate re-arrest after rejecting both surety bonds filed on her behalf. Bundoo faces charges including money laundering, theft of property, misuse of public money, and criminal conspiracy. Prosecutors allege that over US$6.7 million and L$845 million in public funds were laundered through companies linked to her family between 2020 and 2023. She has denied the charges and is presumed innocent unless proven guilty. The court found the surety bonds inadequate, with one property heavily encumbered and the combined value of the bonds falling far below the financial exposure reflected in the indictment. Judge Ousman F. Feika emphasized that bail must correspond with the financial exposure in the charges, citing the Liberian Constitution and Criminal Procedure Law. The ruling underscores the court's commitment to scrutinizing property pledged as security for criminal appearance bonds, particularly assets repeatedly pledged across multiple cases or burdened by prior encumbrances.