Liberia’s former Chief of Protocol Nora Finda Bundoo has been remanded at the Monrovia Central Prison after Criminal Court “C” ordered her arrest and set her criminal appearance bond at US$8 million.
Bundoo turned herself over to prison authorities following a ruling by Assigned Circuit Judge Ousman F. Feika, who rejected a second property valuation bond filed on her behalf after finding that one of the properties offered as surety was heavily encumbered and therefore insufficient under Liberian law.
The ruling, delivered during the May Term of Court on Tuesday, July 21, 2026, disqualified and set aside the property valuation bond submitted by John Moses Gbetee and fixed Bundoo’s criminal appearance bond at US$8 million.
Judge Feika ordered that if Bundoo was present in court, the Sheriff should immediately take her into custody, but if she was outside the court’s bailiwick, the Clerk of Court was instructed to issue a writ of arrest directing the Sheriff to arrest and detain her at the Monrovia Central Prison pending the filing and approval of a valid criminal appearance bond.
Following the court’s order, Bundoo surrendered herself and is expected to remain in detention until a valid US$8 million criminal appearance bond is filed and approved by the court.
In his ruling, Judge Feika found that the property offered by Gbetee, valued at US$350,000, was already burdened by multiple encumbrances and had previously been pledged as security in at least 20 other court cases.
Quoting court records, the Judge noted that the total value of bonds previously secured by the same property amounted to US$2,426,500, far exceeding the property’s assessed value.
According to the ruling, accepting the property as surety would violate Chapter 63, Section 63.2(2) of Liberia’s Civil Procedure Law, which requires property pledged as security for a criminal appearance bond to have a value equal to the bond amount, free from liens and other encumbrances. He also reviewed a second property bond submitted by Kai Garlo Farley, valued at US$240,000.
Judge Feika observed that even when combined with Gbetee’s property, the two bonds totaled only US$590,000, an amount the court found grossly inadequate in light of the seriousness of the charges and the value alleged in the indictment.
In fixing the bail, Judge Feika relied on Article 21(i) of the Constitution of Liberia, which guarantees the right to bail while requiring that bail be sufficient considering the gravity of the offense. He also cited Chapter 13, Section 13.2 of the Criminal Procedure Law, which provides that where an offense is punishable by both fine and imprisonment, the amount of bail should correspond to the total potential financial liability.
Judge Feika emphasized that because Money Laundering is among the felony charges against Bundoo, any criminal appearance bond intended to secure her release must strictly comply with the requirements of Liberian law.
The case stems from a November 5, 2025 indictment returned by the Grand Jury for Montserrado County, charging Bundoo and several co-defendants with Money Laundering, Theft of Property, Misuse of Public Money, Property or Records, Criminal Conspiracy, Criminal Facilitation, and other related crimes.
Although the indictment was served on the other defendants shortly after it was returned, Bundoo was not served until June 9, 2026, after authorities said she had been outside Liberia when the indictment was unsealed.
This is the second time Criminal Court “C” has rejected a criminal appearance bond filed on Bundoo’s behalf. On July 3, 2026, the court set aside her initial surety bonds after finding the proposed sureties unqualified and granted her 72 hours to submit a new bond.
The replacement bonds were later challenged by prosecutors through a Bill of Exceptions, resulting in Judge Feika’s latest ruling.
Bundoo is among several defendants indicted following an investigation conducted by the Assets Recovery and Property Retrieval Task Force (AREPT) and the Ministry of Justice into alleged financial crimes involving public funds.
The prosecution argued that the proposed sureties were insufficient to guarantee Bundoo’s appearance before the court, while the defense maintained that bail should not be set at an amount beyond the accused’s financial means.
After considering the arguments, Judge Feika concluded that the statutory requirements governing criminal appearance bonds had not been satisfied and ruled that Bundoo will remain at the Monrovia Central Prison until a valid US$8 million criminal appearance bond is filed and approved by the court.
