Former Chief Executive Officer of African Minerals Sierra Leone, Romanian-born Frank Timis, has revealed through his lawyers representing the Sangarie Law Firm in Freetown, Barristers and Solicitors of the High Court of Sierra Leone that in 2007, he paid advance taxes of US$100,000,000 (one hundred million United States Dollars) to enable the government of Sierra Leone of former President, Ernest Bai Koroma, build roads and other infrastructural developments.
Lawyers in Freetown representing the Romanian tycoon who at some point took over the rich mineral deposits of West Africa, including the Tonkolili rich Iron Ore deposits in northern Sierra Leone, had reportedly written to the current Minister of Mines, Rado Yokie of the New Direction Government complaining about how Minkailu Mansaray, the then Minister of Mines and Mineral Resources in the Ernest Bai Koroma government illegally terminated his Timis Group Company in Lunsar contract on the grounds that they have failed to pay their lease agreement for six months.
Timis owed 100% shares of the company of Timis Group at Lunsar.
Lawyers for Timis say their client personally funded and physically participated in the prospection and discovery of iron ore at Ferengbeyah (the home of Tonkolili Iron Ore Mine) and that as founder of African Minerals, he invested US$3.2 billion to develop the Tonkolili Mine and built the railway from Tonkolili to Pepel Port for 25 million tons per annum capacity.
The lawyers referenced a World Bank Report which had noted at the time that African Minerals has doubled and tripled the GDP of Sierra Leone.
Frank Timis, they continued, was very instrumental in promoting the economic development of Sierra Leone through African Minerals (SL), London Mining Company (SL) and Timis Mining Corporation (SL), which provided the production base for increasing Sierra Leone’s GDP/GNP in terms of goods, services and robust fiscal base for economic growth.
They also alluded that his contribution in revamping the mining sector helped to kick-start Sierra Leone’s march to financial stability, prior to the unlawful cancellation of his Mining Licence in 2017 and the dubious takeover of his 75% African Minerals’ shares by Shandong.
The lawyers for the Romanian tycoon also pressed that Timis had made regular periodic payments of millions of United States Dollars in taxes including royalties to the Ernest Koroma-led government while also honoring his corporate social obligations to the affected communities.
He also claimed to have further created 37,500 jobs within the shortest time of the operational stage of African Minerals (SL) 17, 500 direct jobs and 20,000 indirect jobs, through other service providers.
The latest revelations made through the Sangarie Law firm in Freetown on behalf of Frank Timis will definitely open up new investigations as to what the APC could have done with such huge sums of monies received on behalf of the people of Sierra Leone.
The current Commissions of Enquiry is looking at the mis-management of Sierra Leone mineral resources including the issuing of exploration and mining licenses to several multinational companies between September 2007 and April 2018.
Evidence available to the Justice Biobele Commission of Enquiry had not touched on the current exposures made by Frank Timis and we cannot tell whether the Freetown government has intention of investigating the issues raised by the Romanian tycoon, especially so when the government has expressed interest in meeting with Frank Timis.