Every day, the signs for the eventual return of democratic governance in Sierra Leone are getting clearer and more inevitable. A few days ago, the European Union Parliament passed into law the imposition of financial sanctions on Sierra Leone due to Maada Bio’s illegal and cocaine-propelled regime. (Photo: Bolle Jos sitting behind Maada Bio and Fatima Bio in the Bonthe Church).

The illegitimate President Julius Maada Bio is the central cause of the drastic EU sanctions imposed on poor Sierra Leone this year and next year for many reasons, principally for refusing to hand over the Dutch drug baron Jos Leijdekker, aka Omar Sheriff, to the Netherlands government.

The recent sanctions by the EU were spearheaded by the government of the Netherlands because of the drug lord Bolle Jos, their compatriot who is wanted in Holland, Belgium, and Finland for murder, drug trafficking, money laundering, and so on. But Bio’s SLPP cocaine regime has refused to extradite Bolle Jos.

Now, the resolution of the EU Commission, also led by the government of the Netherlands, will decide early next week on the imposition of stiffer and mind-blowing sanctions on Bio’s corrupt administration and his APC associates inside and outside Sierra Leone. (Photo: EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen).

According to a brief EU press statement, the next step for the 27 nations in the EU Commission against Sierra Leone and other banditry countries of interest will involve freezing personal assets and seizing private bank accounts of Bio’s family and other accomplices in the SLPP and APC, such as Ernest Bai Koroma.

This is fantastic news for the ordinary people of Sierra Leone, who are in the majority, whose suffering has been beyond imagination since 2018 and worsened after the 2023 stolen elections. The sufferers are the very ones whose precious votes in the June 24, 2023 elections were publicly stolen by Bio and his cronies.

Investigations have revealed that the Bio family has more private investments outside Sierra Leone than inside the country. In fact, none inside Sierra Leone. Bio and his mob justice wife, Fatima Jabbe Bio, have siphoned millions of dollars of Sierra Leone money and invested in properties in Gambia, Turkey, Lebanon, Dubai, the US, and so on.

Besides the electoral thievery in the June 24, 2023 elections, the other primary reason for the drastic action being considered by the EU next week is the rise in drug trafficking worldwide, orchestrated by their compatriot Dutch drug baron Bolle Jos, who is hiding in Sierra Leone. (Photo: EU Ambassador to Sierra Leone Jacek Jankowski, centre).

All diplomatic efforts by the Netherlands government to convince the Bio regime to hand over Omar Sheriff alias Bolle Jos or Chubby Jos to them for further prosecution and serving a jail term have proved futile. Now, the Dutch government is leading the campaign in Brussels to move other EU nations to punish Bio’s regime in Sierra Leone.

EU Eyes Sanctions Against Bio and His Network

By EU correspondent Alexander Bakker

The Netherlands is reportedly pushing to fast-track the process in Brussels. EU foreign ministers are heading to Luxembourg on Monday, October 12th, to hash out a sanctions framework that could target criminal networks like the one run by Omar Sheriff. (Photo: Omar Sheriff and Maada Bio circled in the Church).

This follows the meeting of EU Justice and Home Affairs ministers on 1 October, where the Netherlands continued pushing for stronger European action against organised crime and to speed up the sanctions process. The European Commission and High Representative rolled out this framework on July 9, 2026. It’s built to target serious organised crime, stuff like drug trafficking, money laundering, and smuggling migrants. If adopted, it would allow the EU to impose:

Asset Freezes: Funds and economic resources held within EU jurisdictions could be frozen, and EU persons and entities would be forbidden from making funds available to individuals listed under the regime. Travel Bans: Individuals listed under the regime could be prohibited from entering or transiting through EU member states.

International Reach: The framework is intended to address serious organised criminal activity originating outside the EU that threatens European security. If individuals are listed under the framework, they could face direct financial and travel restrictions in Europe. The message is becoming increasingly clear: protecting criminal networks could carry a high price.