Former Executive Mansion Chief of Protocol Nora Finda Bundoo has suffered another legal setback after Criminal Court “C” ruled that her third criminal appearance bond remains insufficient, leaving her US$1.342 million short of the court’s US$8 million requirement.
Presiding Judge Ousman F. Feika has given American Underwriters Group (AUG) 30 days to augment the shortfall, warning that the bond will not be approved until the full amount required by the court is adequately secured.
The latest ruling follows weeks of legal battles over Bundoo’s attempts to secure her release after she was remanded at the Monrovia Central Prison on July 21, 2026, when the court rejected an earlier property-backed bond and ordered her detention pending the filing and approval of a valid US$8 million criminal appearance bond.
In its latest assessment, Criminal Court “C” approved a US$6 million bond from ACICO and recognized a previously accepted US$240,000 surety. However, the court found the US$2 million bond submitted by American Underwriters Group financially inadequate after reviewing the company’s assets and liabilities.
The court consequently calculated Bundoo’s valid sureties at approximately US$6.657 million, leaving a deficit of US$1.342 million. Judge Feika ordered AUG to provide sufficient additional financial backing within 30 days to cover the deficit.
Until the deficiency is cured and the bond formally approved, the court’s order seizing Bundoo’s passports and other travel documents remains in effect. This latest development comes after the Supreme Court declined to stop Judge Feika from proceeding with matters concerning Bundoo’s bond.
Associate Justice Yussif D. Kaba, sitting in Chambers, denied Bundoo’s petition for a writ of prohibition seeking to prevent Criminal Court “C” from exercising jurisdiction over her criminal appearance bond and related detention proceedings.
Justice Kaba instead directed Judge Feika to resume jurisdiction and proceed with the case according to law. The decision effectively cleared the way for Criminal Court “C” to determine whether Bundoo’s latest bond satisfies the legal requirements for her release.
It also leaves the trial court with authority to take further action if Bundoo fails to satisfy the bond requirements, including the possibility of her re-arrest, should the court determine that she remains without a legally sufficient appearance bond.
The Supreme Court proceedings followed a challenge by the Assets Recovery and Property Retrieval Taskforce (AREPT) to Bundoo’s third bond. AREPT, through its Executive Director, Cllr. Edwin Kla Martin, petitioned Criminal Court “C” to decline jurisdiction over the third bond, arguing that the matter had already been placed before Justice Kaba through the prohibition proceedings.
According to the Taskforce, Bundoo’s third appearance bond was approved on July 30, 2026, and filed with the Clerk of Criminal Court “C” on August 3, 2026. AREPT argued that the filing occurred while the legality of further proceedings before the trial court was being considered by Justice Kaba.
The Taskforce maintained that Justice Kaba had assumed jurisdiction on July 22, 2026, after issuing citations for the parties to appear for a conference concerning Bundoo’s petition for a writ of prohibition.
AREPT therefore urged Criminal Court “C” to await the outcome of the Supreme Court proceedings before acting on the third bond. With Justice Kaba’s subsequent refusal to halt the trial court proceedings, however, Judge Feika was left free to continue examining the sufficiency of the bond.
The latest bond dispute traces back to July 21, 2026, when Judge Feika ordered Bundoo remanded at the Monrovia Central Prison after rejecting a second property valuation bond filed on her behalf. The court found that one of the properties offered as security was heavily encumbered and therefore failed to meet the requirements for a valid criminal appearance bond.
Judge Feika disqualified and set aside the property valuation bond submitted by John Moses Gbetee and fixed Bundoo’s appearance bond at US$8 million. The Judge ordered that if Bundoo was present in court, the Sheriff should immediately take her into custody.
If she was outside the court’s bailiwick, the Clerk was ordered to issue a writ of arrest for her detention at the Monrovia Central Prison pending the filing and approval of a valid bond. Bundoo subsequently surrendered herself to prison authorities.
In his ruling, Judge Feika found that Gbetee’s property, valued at US$350,000, was already burdened by multiple encumbrances and had reportedly been pledged as security in at least 20 other cases. Court records cited by the judge showed that bonds previously secured by the same property amounted to approximately US$2.426 million, far exceeding its assessed value.
Judge Feika also considered a second property valued at US$240,000, but found that even the combined value of the two properties approximately US$590,000 was grossly inadequate to secure the US$8 million bond set by the court. The bond dispute began earlier on July 3, 2026, when Criminal Court “C” rejected Bundoo’s initial surety arrangements after finding the proposed sureties unqualified. The court granted the defense 72 hours to file a replacement bond.
The replacement arrangement was subsequently challenged by prosecutors, leading to further hearings and ultimately Judge Feika’s July 21 decision to reject the second property-backed bond and order Bundoo’s detention.
During earlier proceedings, one of Bundoo’s proposed sureties, Cllr. Abraham W. Simpson, testified that he had pledged his Gaye Town property, valued at more than US$230,000, as security. State prosecutors challenged the adequacy of the property and also questioned Simpson’s role as both Bundoo’s defense lawyer and proposed surety.
The prosecution argued that the proposed securities did not meet the legal requirements governing criminal appearance bonds, while the defense maintained that its bond arrangements complied with the law and should be approved.
Bundoo is among several defendants indicted by the Government of Liberia following an investigation into alleged financial crimes involving public resources. The indictment, returned by the Montserrado County Grand Jury on November 5, 2025, charges Bundoo and others with offenses including money laundering, theft of property, economic sabotage through misuse of public money, property or records, criminal conspiracy, criminal facilitation, abuse of office, and other related offenses.
The prosecution alleges that the defendants unlawfully acquired, transferred or benefited from public assets, resulting in substantial financial losses to the Liberian Government. Bundoo has denied the allegations and continues to challenge the prosecution’s case through her lawyers. The latest ruling does not determine Bundoo’s guilt or innocence.
For now, the central issue before Criminal Court “C” is whether her sureties can provide the additional US$1.342 million required to bring her appearance bond to the court-mandated US$8 million threshold. Until then, her travel documents remain seized and the court retains jurisdiction to enforce its previous orders.
