Grand Cape Mount Senator Cllr. Varney G. Sherman has finally broken silence on a recently imposed economic and financial sanction on him by the US Department of Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
Senator Sherman the sanction by the United States has destroyed his law practice.
In a communication to plenary on Tuesday, January 14, 2021, Senator Sherman said most of his clients have terminated their attorney client relationship with the firm.
Senator Sherman said some of the law firm clients started with his law firm since it was established in July 1989 and continued with him through thick and thin until the imposition of the sanction.
Cllr. Sherman in the communication denied facilitating any payment of bribe to Liberian politicians to impeach former Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Liberia Kabinah Ja’neh or any other judge.
He also said OFAC is assuming that he used his personal fund to bribe politicians (member of House of Representative and Senate) when most of the lawmakers who removed the Associate Justice are from the ruling party.
Cllr. Sherman contended that his law firm (Sherman & Sherman) was never involved in any case that impeached former Justice Ja’neh.
According to him, Justice Ja’neh was just one of the majority justices who ruled against his firm and it was not a personal case, wondering how OFAC concluded that he facilitated the payment of bribe to politician to impeach a judge.
He said 90% of his firm’s clients are foreign owned corporations and foreign non-governmental organizations; very few are Lebanese nationals and some are Liberian citizens.
Senator Sherman said the firm is a corporate law firm that engages primarily in transaction law and not litigation, while every retainer agreement signed with them to provide legal service or make any form of representation provides that their services shall comply with the US Foreign Corrupt Practice Act.
“Perhaps OFAC would do me and my firm client the justice by naming the judges to whom I am alleged to have routinely given bribes to decide cases in my favor; perhaps OFAC would go one step further and name those clients whose cases I am deemed to have routinely bribed judges,” Senator Sherman said.
After the reading of his communication, a motion was made by Grand Bassa Senator Nyonblee K Lawrence that the communication is turned over to the leadership to report to plenary in three weeks.
It can be recalled that in recognition of International Anti-Corruption Day, the US Department of Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed economic and financial sanction on Cllr. Sherman based on bribery, among other things.
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