By Jamesetta D Williams
SOUTH BEACH-With her hands stretched in the air and tears filled her eyes during a laconic chat with reporters at the Monrovia Central Prison, former Executive Mansion Chief of Protocol, Nora Finda Bundoo could only put her fate in the hands of God, saying “I leave everything with God; I am willing and ready” – a statement said to be indicative of her determination to face whatever lies ahead of her in terms of her indictment by the Liberian government through the Asset Recovery and Retrieval Taskforce.
She had turned herself in to authority to go through her legal woos spurred by the “money laundering, theft of property, economic sabotage” charges brought against her by the government for allegedly wiring millions of dollars out of Liberia in different banking channels.
She spoke at the courtyard of the Central Prison after criminal appearance bonds filed on her behalf were rejected for not meeting the legal requirements for her release.
Presiding Judge of Criminal Court “C,” Ousman F. Feika, revoked Bundoo’s existing bond and set her bail at US$8 million, before ordering she be remanded at the Monrovia Central Prison until she files a criminal appearance bond approved by the court.
Following the court’s decision, Bundoo surrendered herself and was taken into custody at the Monrovia Central Prison.
Bundoo is among several defendants indicted by the November 2025 Montserrado County Grand Jury on charges of money laundering, theft of property, misuse of public money, criminal conspiracy, and criminal facilitation. She was served with the indictment on June 9, 2026, after returning to Liberia.
According to the court, Bundoo’s original criminal appearance bond was previously set aside on July 3, 2026, with the court granting her 72 hours to submit a valid replacement bond.
In response, two sureties filed property bonds valued at US$240,000 and US$350,000, respectively. However, the prosecution challenged both bonds, arguing that they were insufficient to secure her release.
In his ruling, Judge Feika found that the property offered by one of the sureties, John Moses Gbetee, was heavily encumbered and had already been pledged in 20 other court cases, securing bonds totaling approximately US$2.43 million—far exceeding the property’s declared value of US$350,000.
The court further ruled that the combined value of the two properties, US$590,000, was grossly inadequate considering the seriousness of the charges contained in the indictment.
Citing relevant provisions of the 1986 Constitution of Liberia and the country’s Civil and Criminal Procedure Laws, Judge Feika disqualified Gbetee’s bond, found the second bond insufficient, and fixed Bundoo’s criminal appearance bond at US$8 million.
The judge ordered the Sheriff of Criminal Court “C” to immediately take Bundoo into custody if she was present in court. In the event she was absent, the Clerk of Court was instructed to issue a writ of arrest directing law enforcement authorities to detain her at the Monrovia Central Prison pending the filing and approval of a valid criminal appearance bond.
As a result of the ruling, Bundoo surrendered herself and is now being held at the Monrovia Central Prison, where she will remain until she satisfies the court’s bail requirements.
The case forms part of an ongoing prosecution involving allegations of corruption and financial crimes against several former government officials. Proceedings are expected to continue once Bundoo files a criminal appearance bond that meets the approval of Criminal Court “C”.
Madam Bundoo at the weekend threw what political observers called “political fireball” after widely accusing “her own people” of wanting to her to go be jailed and even abandoning her. She was not specific as to “her own people” who abandoned and wanted her jailed. But the comments made at the funeral of her late father, Elijah Tamba Bundoo, a former language announcer at the ELBC, sparked national debate.
While some Liberians, apparently from the other side of the political divide tried to make use of her comments, some members of the CDC of which she is a member debunked the comments, accussing of her betrayal and untrustworthiness.
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