Emmanuel Nimely, the former religious advisor to ex-President George Weah, has been released on bail after spending nearly a year in detention over allegations of defrauding dozens of individuals in an $87,300 visa scam.
The decision came on Tuesday from Criminal Court ‘C,’ marking an end to Nimely’s prolonged stay at Monrovia Central Prison, where he had been held since his arrest in 2023.
According to court documents, Nimely, who also served as senior pastor of Weah’s Forkay Klon Church, allegedly deceived over 90 people by promising them visas and travel arrangements for a religious conference in Australia.
One of the victims, H. Momo Fortune Jr., recounted to investigators how he met Nimely in August 2023. The clergyman introduced himself as the founder of the “Global Spiritual Cleansing Peace and Reconciliation Organization” and claimed to be organizing an event called the “Healing Broken Hearts of Australia Reconciliation Conference and Crusade.”
Fortune said he paid Nimely $3,500 for what he believed was a guaranteed Australian visa. Dozens of others reportedly paid $970 each under similar pretenses.
When the promised visas never arrived and refunds were not issued, victims alerted authorities. During police questioning, Nimely admitted to receiving the money but claimed it was meant for processing visas for the Australia conference, an event investigators later determined never existed.
Police uncovered a promotional flyer advertising a five-day conference in Australia from December 5-9, 2023, featuring the flags of Liberia, Kenya, and Australia. However, further scrutiny revealed that the organization, while hosting legitimate prayer meetings, was allegedly being used to facilitate fraudulent schemes.
Despite the charges being bailable under Liberian law, Nimely’s legal team initially struggled to secure a valid criminal bond, prolonging his detention until this week.
Nimely, who served as Weah’s religious advisor from 2016 to 2018, now awaits trial as the case continues to unfold. For the nearly 100 alleged victims, the ordeal serves as a cautionary tale about trust, faith, and the dangers of too-good-to-be-true promises.
