Jamal and Daniel ShallopNetpage (SL) Limited, the company responsible for Sierra Leone’s e-passport system, has been accused of failing to pay royalties to the state and profiting from a questionable procurement process. Jamal Shallop, the company’s CEO, is of Lebanese descent. According to multiple audit reports and investigations by governance organisations, Netpage formed a joint venture with the Government of Sierra Leone and British printer Thomas De La Rue (DLR) to position Netpage as the local service provider and revenue collector, while DLR retained printing rights.
The contract was signed in February 2013 with a ten-year term ending in December 2023. Netpage began passport production in Sierra Leone in February 2014 under a tripartite agreement. By 2015, the country had transitioned to ICAO-compliant e-passports. Auditors and oversight bodies report problems with royalty payments owed to the government under contract.
In its report for the fiscal year 2022, the Audit Service Sierra Leone (ASSL) identified “outstanding royalty” payments made by Netpage. Later allegations, cited in 2025 reporting, put the total amount that Netpage allegedly failed to remit at around USD 744,993 — an amount described as equivalent to an 8-9% royalty on issued passports. The Institute for Governance Reform (IGR) has raised concerns about the lack of evidence that royalty receipts from the e-passport contract were deposited in Sierra Leone’s consolidated revenue fund.
According to those investigations, Sierra Leone issues between 60,000 and 70,000 passports per year, generating approximately USD 7-9 million in passport revenue at current issuance rates. Despite the size of this revenue stream, auditors and governance groups claim they were unable to trace corresponding royalty payments to the national treasury, raising concerns about lost state revenue and contract oversight.
Price and procurement issues exacerbate the royalties dispute. Sierra Leone’s e-passport fees are among the highest in West Africa, with charges ranging from USD 100 to USD 180. Critics argue that the high fees and multiple renewals of the e-passport contract (at least three times) indicate a lack of competitive bidding and clear value-for-money assessments in passport program management.
In response to the audit findings, Hon. Ibrahim Tawa Conteh, Chairman of Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC), publicly urged the Immigration Department and Netpage management to submit the original contract and any revised royalty agreement to Parliament for review. Hon. Tawa Conteh moved quickly to investigate the ASSL’s “outstanding royalty” issue and to demand transparency regarding contractual terms and funds flow.
According to reports, Netpage’s CEO Jamal Shallop is in charge of overseeing the tripartite arrangement as well as negotiations with government officials on pricing and royalties. The published accounts summarise allegations and audit findings; they describe Netpage’s actions as a refusal or failure to honour royalty obligations, though the publicly available summaries do not include full responses from Netpage or Mr Shallop to the specific claims.
If the allegations are proven, Sierra Leone’s fiscal and governance situation could worsen. To determine if contractual obligations were met, state revenues were properly collected and deposited, and appropriate remedies, parliamentary review, forensic audit work, and legal or administrative follow-up may be necessary.
