MONROVIA — Criminal Court ‘C’ on Tuesday released Rev. Emmanuel Nimely, former religious advisor to ex-President George Weah, on bail in connection with an alleged US$87,300 theft case involving a visa scam.
By Victoria G. Wesseh, [email protected]
Rev. Nimely, also the former senior pastor of Weah’s Forkay Klon Church, had been incarcerated at the Monrovia Central Prison since 2023 after his arrest for allegedly defrauding 90 individuals under the pretense of securing travel arrangements to Australia.
Despite the charges qualifying for bail under Liberian law, Nimely’s legal team had initially failed to secure a valid criminal bond following his first court appearance. That failure resulted in his prolonged detention until Tuesday, when an appropriate bond was finally filed and accepted by the court.
According to court records obtained by FrontPage Africa, the alleged offenses occurred between August 6 and December 2023 in the ABC Community, Baptist Seminary area of Paynesville.
One of the complainants, H. Momo Fortune, Jr., told investigators that he met Nimely on August 6, 2023. During their encounter, Nimely introduced himself as the founder of the “Global Spiritual Cleansing Peace and Reconciliation Organization” and claimed he was organizing a program titled the “Healing Broken Hearts of Australia Reconciliation Conference and Crusade.”
Fortune said Nimely collected $3,500 from him under the guise of securing an Australian visa. Nimely also allegedly collected $970 each from more than 80 other individuals under similar pretenses.
Rev. Nimely later admitted to police that he had received the funds, explaining that he intended to use the money for visa processing for the fictitious Australian conference.
He confessed that when the visas failed to materialize and he was unable to refund the victims, police were contacted, leading to his arrest.
A police investigation revealed that the “Global Spiritual Cleansing Peace & Reconciliation Organization” operated as a religious entity organizing prayer meetings and peace-building events. However, authorities concluded that the group was being used to run fraudulent schemes, including organizing fake foreign conferences.
Investigators also discovered a flyer advertising a five-day conference in Australia from December 5 to 9, 2023. The flyer featured the national flags of Liberia, Kenya, and Australia, and carried the event theme “Healing the Broken Hearts of Australian Reconciliation Conference & Crusade.”
Nimely served as religious advisor to President George Weah from 2016 to 2018.