On May 22, Stanton Witherspoon, lead host of Spoon Talk on Spoon FM/TV, claimed that the Asset Recovery and Property Retrieval Taskforce (AREPT) received US$1,050,000 (one million fifty thousand United States dollars) in the 2024 National Budget to support its operations.
Mr. Witherspoon made the claim while questioning the task force’s poor performance, despite receiving the amount of US$1,050,000 in 2024.
AREPT was established by the Liberian government through an executive order to trace, recover, and return stolen or illegally acquired public assets. It operates as part of the government’s anti-corruption efforts by working with key institutions to ensure accountability and transparency.
The Claim
Witherspoon exact statement: “But Kla Martin, what did you do with the first money – the big first amount?… The total money received under 2024 was one million fifty thousand. What did you do with it?”
Rating Justification
To fact-check if AREPT received US$1,050,000 (one million fifty thousand United states dollars) in 2024, we reviewed the Approved 2024 National Budget published by the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP), the government body responsible for preparing, executing, and reporting on Liberia’s national budget.
A thorough review of the 2024 budget shows that AREPT was allocated US$750,000. Not US$1,050,000 as claimed by Mr. Wetherspoon.
Conclusion
Based on the review of official budget documents, we conclude that the claim made by Stanton Wetherspoon that AREPT received US$1,050,000 in the 2024 National Budget is misleading.
The 2024 budget shows that AREPT received an appropriation of US$750,000.00 and NOT US$1,050,000 as claimed by Mr. Witherspoon.
