Bank records from Afriland First Bank cited in court-ordered disclosure show $105,000 debited from court-supervised fiduciary account; Special Judge Bright's inquiry exposes chain-of-custody questions.

The Commercial Court is facing renewed questions over fiduciary accountability after a court-compelled disclosure by Afriland First Bank Liberia Limited revealed alleged unauthorized withdrawals from a judicially-supervised escrow account belonging to Ducor Petroleum Inc., documents reviewed by this paper show.

The records at the center of the inquiry consist of deposit and withdrawal slips, correspondence, and periodic bank statements relating to the Ducor escrow, released to the court following a formal judicial communication issued by Special Judge U-Jay W.H.S Bright.

No criminal charges have been filed against Commercial Court Chief Judge Her Honor Eva Mappy-Morgan. No finding of judicial misconduct has been made by the Judicial Inquiry Commission (JIC) or the Supreme Court of Liberia. All persons named are presumed innocent until proven guilty or until a formal finding is made by a competent disciplinary authority. The allegations described below are based on documents and court filings reviewed by this publication and remain unproven.

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According to court filings, Monrovia Oil Trading Corporation (MOTC), said to be owned by Belgian nationals Charles Carron and Krisman Leemans, filed a Petition for Accounting against Mr. Amos P.K. Brosius Sr., who was then General Manager of Ducor Petroleum Inc.

By Order dated July 22, 2013, the Commercial Court placed Ducor Petroleum's operating account at the Liberia Bank for Development and Investment (LBDI) -- Account No. 0221215153401 -- under the management and protection of the Court. The account was ordered frozen pending a forensic audit and final accounting.

Filings reviewed by this paper allege that subsequent debits in excess of US$3,244,100.78 were effected from the LBDI account without notice to all parties and in alleged breach of the escrow terms.

That dispute was addressed in a ruling dated September 18, 2026, by Special Judge Bright. In that ruling, Judge Bright held MOTC liable for US$3,244,100.78, finding, based on financial records and bank statements reviewed by the Court, that MOTC, acting on a letter from its legal counsel Heritage Partners and Associates Inc., instructed LBDI to release the funds, resulting in the depletion of the judicially-controlled account. The Court declared that withdrawal unauthorized, null and void, and ordered restitution to Mr. Brosius, whom the Court recognized as the legitimate General Manager and owner of Ducor Petroleum Inc.

MOTC's position, as reflected in court records, is that it did not independently access the account but applied to the Commercial Court, which had placed the account under its control, and received judicial authorization for the 2013 withdrawal. That authorization, according to the same records, was issued ex parte by then Chief Judge Mappy-Morgan without notice to the opposing party -- a claim that remains subject to judicial determination.

Separate from the LBDI account, a second escrow was created at Afriland First Bank Liberia Limited.

According to filings, the parties agreed that the sum of US$212,704.30 -- representing the combined value of seven checks totaling US$212,704.36 -- be escrowed at Afriland in order not to be used unilaterally by MOTC. The funds were seized and placed under escrow by order of Chief Judge Mappy-Morgan.

Under the Commercial Court Act of Liberia, the Revised Civil Procedure Law, and established fiduciary principles, an escrow account created by court order is a fiduciary trust account. The Court is not the beneficial owner. It acts as trustee and custodian. Disbursements are required to be made pursuant to a formal court order, with notice to all parties, and through the Court's designated administrative channels -- typically the Accounts Section, with the official stamp and the notation "By Order of the Court" and a verifiable chain of custody.

Court records indicate that while reviewing the Ducor Petroleum file -- which reflected a total deposited escrow balance of approximately US$212,704.30 at Afriland -- Special Judge Bright observed accounting gaps between the deposited amount and the bank's reported balance.

In exercise of his case management authority, Judge Bright issued a formal judicial communication to Afriland Bank compelling the release of all deposit slips, withdrawal slips, and periodic statements relating to the Ducor Petroleum Inc. escrow account.

It was that disclosure that allegedly brought the transactions now under scrutiny to light. According to the bank's response, released pursuant to Judge Bright's order, the escrow account was debited on two occasions totaling US$105,000:

August 6, 2015 -- US$32,000

October 22, 2015 -- US$73,000

Judge Bright has not made a public statement. Under the Code of Judicial Conduct, judges are barred from public comment on matters that may become subject to investigation by the JIC.

Copies of withdrawal slips in the possession of this paper form the core of the procedural questions.

According to those slips, the instruments allegedly do not bear the official stamp of the Commercial Court's Accounts Section or the standard notation "By Order of the Court."

Instead, the slips are alleged to bear personal identifiers attributed to Chief Judge Mappy-Morgan, including her name and telephone contact, and were reportedly processed and presented for payment by the Acting Sheriff of the Commercial Court, identified as Nathaniel Gildersleeves, rather than by a court accountant.

In correspondence to Mr. Hamadou O. Bayo, President/CEO of Afriland Bank, dated August 6, 2013 and October 13, 2015, Chief Judge Mappy-Morgan reportedly instructed that the bank's management should permit Mr. Gildersleeves, Acting Sheriff, to "take delivery of the said amount and have same brought to the court."

That correspondence has created the central legal contradiction now cited by lawyers familiar with the file: the official letters state that funds were to be taken by the Sheriff and brought to the Court, while the financial instruments themselves -- the withdrawal slips -- are alleged to carry the Chief Judge's personal identifiers, raising questions about compliance with fiduciary procedure and the documented chain of custody of litigants' funds.

Under Liberian law, a Sheriff acts only on explicit written instruction of a Judge and is an enforcement arm of the Court, not an independent disbursing authority.

A senior commercial lawyer consulted by this paper, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, said:

"Judges are custodians of the process, not personal signatories for disbursement. If substantiated, this procedure would represent a grave departure from established escrow procedure. Either scenario would require a full explanation -- if a judge withdrew it herself, it would raise issues of direct conflict and conversion; if she directed her Sheriff to do it without a formal court order and notice to the parties, it would raise issues of abuse of office and misappropriation. But these are allegations that require formal investigation and due process."

If the allegations were to be substantiated through due process, legal analysts say three separate review tracks could be triggered:

Article 72 of the Judicial Canons prohibits judges from engaging in financial transactions involving litigants before their court. An escrow account for Ducor Petroleum, a company under active litigation before the Commercial Court, would fall within the scope of that prohibition, if personal use were proven.

And, the alleged unauthorized withdrawal of escrow funds could, if proven, be referred for investigation as theft of property, abuse of office, or economic sabotage under the Penal Law of Liberia. Such a determination would require prosecutorial review and proof beyond a reasonable doubt.

A Chief Judge of a specialized court can be investigated by the Judicial Inquiry Commission (JIC). Upon a finding and recommendation, the matter may be referred to the Supreme Court and, where warranted, to the National Legislature for impeachment proceedings under the Constitution.

None of these tracks have been initiated publicly as of press time.

The allegations come at a sensitive moment for the Judiciary. Under Chief Justice Yamie Quiqui Gbeisay, the Supreme Court has publicly prioritized restoring public confidence in the courts, particularly the Commercial Court, which was established to provide fast-track, investor-friendly adjudication of commercial disputes.

Liberia's Commercial Court holds fiduciary funds for both domestic and foreign litigants. The integrity of its escrow mechanism is considered critical to foreign direct investment and commercial dispute resolution.

"Investors need to know that funds held in trust by the court are safer than funds held anywhere else," another commercial practitioner said. "Any perception of irregular handling, even if unproven, must be promptly and transparently investigated."

The Daily Observer has reviewed copies of the relevant withdrawal slips, correspondence, and the September 18, 2026 ruling. The originals remain in the custody of the bank and the Court. This report is based on those documents and on court filings and does not assert criminal liability or judicial misconduct as fact.