Commission 64 witness Mr. Festus Sowah Head of Retail Banking at the Sierra Leone Commercial Bank has disclosed that in 2014, the SLCB and Ministry of Trade and Industry signed a Memorandum of Understanding in which the bank was to provide funds that would be used to give out loans to SMEs. The bank obliged and provided the funds after the MTI had deposited some cash as security.

The loans repayment was poor and the bank ignited its set off clause in the MoU and took charge of the MTI money.  However it has emerged that most of the so called SMEs were APC operatives and the money was meant to just put cash into their pockets. The probe continues.