Liberia, West Africa’s most forested country, has a long history of illegal logging, which the country's regulator, the Forestry Development Authority, has repeatedly struggled to confront. So it raised eyebrows when Rudolph Merab, whose companies were twice found to have engaged in illegal logging, was recently appointed to lead the FDA.
to the rebels, something the former president denied. A 2001 U.N. report said was attacked by opposing rebels “to discourage them from doing business with Charles Taylor.” Merab told the AP that he had “engaged” with the Taylor but gave no details. did business with the Republic of Liberia, not with Taylor, Merab said. “I never engaged in arms trafficking. I was one of those who was affected by this,” said Merab. “We never participated in the war, we never supported any members of the war.” Merab also took issue with determinations by previous governments that his companies had been involved in illegal logging.
’s sizable logging concessions were illegal. The company's contract didn’t comply with the rule of law or labor laws and had tax arrears of $1.4 million, the review found. The company’s concessions were subsequently canceled. The findings were “completely incorrect,” said Merab. “From the time I started logging, I worked within the confines of the law.
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