Real-estate debacle

By the time Foray arrived at his new post in London, years of corruption and the astronomical cost of the Sierra Leone Civil War had depleted the financial resources of the government.^[5] The office of the Sierra Leone High Commission was located at the exclusive address of 33 Portland Place, in Mayfair.^[5] However, when Foray took up residence at the five-story mansion, it had fallen into a state of hazardous disrepair.^[5] More than one ceiling had caved in and the Sierra Leonean government was unable to cover the cost of restorations and even the most basic maintenance.^[5] Because of the deteriorating state of the property, the landlord threatened eviction. Before it came to this, Foray decided to downsize and downscale so that he could successfully run the high commission on the limited budget available to him.^[5] The remaining 20 years on the lease were sold for £50,000 to Edward Davenport's property development firm Capricorn Investments.^[5]

Outraged by the paltry profit from the sale, the Sierra Leonean government sued Capricorn Investments and accused Davenport of being a war profiteer.^[6] Foray resigned from office on Friday, 28 April 2000.^[5] The Sierra Leonean government proceeded to file a suit against him in 2000. However, the government lost both cases when it was proven that Capricorn Investments paid a fair price for the dilapidated 24-room mansion.^[7] Foray was cleared of any wrongdoing when the court determined that at the time of the sale the property at 33 Portland Place was in need of several million pounds' worth of repairs.^[7]