Indigenes of Lokomasama Chiefdom in the Northern Port Loko district, yesterday June 13th 2012 contacted this presshouse with a huge bundle of documented allegations against international companies operating within their chiefdom. According to the dis-satisfied residents of the chiefdom, these companies, especially a certain mining company has been conniving with elected officials to swindle the people of the chiefdom and complaints to Government authorities are ignored.

For example, according to a Guarantee Trust Bank account statement for a Current Account #3104692 3/001/0001/000 in the name of LOKOMASAMA DEVELOPMENT FUND at Komrabai Town, the sum of One Billion, Eight Hundred Million Leones (Le1,800,000,000) was paid into the account by one mining company on 22nd February last year as an internal bank transfer from the mining company’s account held at Guarantee Trust Bank via cheque #491968. Interestingly, on that same date, the same sum of whopping One Billion, Eight Hundred Million Leones was immediately withdrawn as a lump sum via cheque #521603; its destination is unknown.

As if that was not enough, another One Billion, Eight Hundred Million Leones (Le1,800,000,000) was within another space of less than 24 hours, also paid into the same account from the same mining company via cheque #491969, only for it to also be promptly withdrawn via cheque#521604.

So, within a space of 24 to 48 hours, a sum of Three Billion, Six Hundred Million Leones (Le3,600,000,000) was paid and instantly withdrawn for which the residents claim, they have no knowledge of its disbursement.

The residents are alleging other very serious issues such as claiming that whilst some of these multi-national companies are informing their stock holders and international stock exchange of their excellent corporate social responsibilities in-country, they were conniving with Parliamentarians to keep the Lokomasama residents dirt-poor whilst the loot was shared between unscrupulous operatives of the mining company and others in question.

Meanwhile, the allegations are so grave and of such magnitude that this newspaper is sending a top notch undercover team into the chiefdom within the next seven (7) days to get a first hand account of some of what we have been told.

Please stay tuned for our findings into what is clearly turning out to be a probable scandal of monumental proportions. We intend to conduct live interviews as well as do undercover investigations.