By Kaddy Jawo in Banjul
The Attorney General and Minister for Justice Abubacarr Tambadou told journalists today at a press briefing that the Commission of Inquiry on The Gambia’s Former President’s Financial Dealings and Connected Matters commonly referred to as the ‘Janneh Commission’ found that former president Yahya Jammeh either directly or through third parties embezzled from the public coffers over D1 billion (one billion dalasis), $300 million (three hundred million U.S. dollars), €30 million euros (thirty million Euro), and £200 million (two hundred million pounds sterling) respectively.
Minister Tambadou said his ministry will continue to look at the report and will advise the president on the necessary actions to be taken in order to be able to implement the recommendations of the commission. The president, according to Tambadou, has approved that the Government of The Gambia takes three measures as part of its recovery of assets from former President Jammeh assets.
The first is the immediate forfeiture of all movable and immovable assets including developed and undeveloped landed properties, shares and all other acquisitions by former President Jammeh on the expiration date of the freezing order on 17 June 2019 set by the High Court. Second is the immediate forfeiture of all movable and immovable assets in the name of Muhammed Bazzi on the same expiration date of 17 June 2019. And finally, the immediate forfeiture of all monies, all frozen commercial bank accounts in The Gambia upon the expiration date of 17 June 2019 respectively.
The minister advised all financial institutions, especially the commercial banks, to take note of this actions and announcement which will be followed by correspondence specifically addressed to them.
Muhammed Ibrahim Bazzi is a Lebanese tycoon with business interest in The Gambia. One of his key partner institutions in the country is the National Water and Electricity Company (NAWEC) which has a purchase agreement with him. He has been identified by the Janneh Commission to be a close associate of the former President Jammeh.
In April, the U.S. State Department included Bazzi as one of the three people the U.S. Government imposed sanction on as a proxy for the Iranian government financing Hezbollah.
“Mohamed Ibrahim Bazzi, …. provided Hizballah [sic] with millions of dollars from his transcontinental business holdings. He leveraged his political relationships to build a vast petroleum, mining, milling, and energy services empire that, again, spanned Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, all to Hizballah’s [sic] benefit. Bazzi is now struggling to maintain his business ties to Belgium, Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Iraq, the Gambia [sic], Lebanon, and Sierra Leone,” said the Assistant Secretary of Treasury Department, Marshall Billingslea, at the State Department announcement.
Assistant Secretary Billingslea continued to say that, Bazzi “also worked closely with the Central Bank of Iran to expand banking access between Lebanon and Iran and has leveraged a close personal relationship with the ousted former Gambian dictator, Yahya Jammeh, to re-establish political ties between the Gambia [sic] and Iran. Treasury designated Bazzi and his companies in May of 2018.”
According to Billingslea, “the United States Government is prepared to pay for this information, and we will award up to $10 million for leads that result in financial disruption, whether by U.S. law enforcement, sanctions, or other enforcement actions.”
Bazzi, the U.S. believes, is also engaged in narcotics trade which has proliferated in failed states in Africa. In June 2010, The Gambia Police seized two tonnes of cocaine worth $1 billion the owner or sources of which remained a mystery. Bazzi, the U.S. suspects is a player in nebulous business relationship between Yahya Jammeh one hand, and Iranian government and Hezbollah on the other. In November of that year, the government of Yahya Jammeh severed all ties with Iran after weapons destined to The Gambia from Iran were intercepted at a Seaport in Lagos, in Nigeria, which was a violation of a United Nation sanction imposed on Iran. The U.S., and now the new government in The Gambia, are both in the quest to disrupt Bazzi’s finances and businesses many of which are located in The Gambia.
“Tabaja, Charara, and Bazzi collectively represents several diverse streams of funding by which Hizballah [sic] has raised and laundered millions of dollars. They have leveraged political ties with corrupt regimes and often gained unfair monopolistic control over state industries. The inter-connectedness between their global networks of seemingly legitimate businesses and Hizballah [sic], including its operational units, make it critically important that their access to the international financial system be permanently severed,” said Billingslea.
The Janneh Commission was set up by President Adama Barrow to probe into the financial dealings of his predecessor Yahya Jammeh and his close associates from July 1994 to January 2017.
In March 2019, Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) uncovered series of stories on how Jammeh and his associates plundered nearly US$1 billion of timber resources and The Gambia’s public funds. Tens of thousands of documents — including government correspondence, contracts, bank records, internal investigations, and legal documents — lay bare the true scale of the theft. The report further states that Jammeh’s powerful inner circle helped him solidified his power.
The former president also played China and Taiwan against each other to obtain more than $100 million of bilateral aid that was dished out with few questions asked. Jammeh now live in exile in Equatorial Guinea after he lost to his successor in the December 2016 presidential election but refused to handover power until forced out by a threat of military invasion by regional powers.
The Commission report, which was submitted on Friday March 29th, 2019, was presented to President Adama Barrow, at a ceremony held at State House. The Commissioners were Surahata Janneh as the Chairperson together with Bai Mass Saine and Abiosseh George.
According to the report, 253 witnesses appeared before the Commission in a period of about twenty-two months.
Surahata Janneh, the Chairperson of the Commission, said they discovered huge amounts of stolen Government properties, including properties belonging to other people.
“The amount involved is vast. The quantity of landed properties involved is huge. It runs to over 300 landed properties throughout the length and breadth of the country. We have discovered a huge volume of corruption,” Commission Chairperson Janneh highlighted.
Musa Camara, in the United States, contributed to reporting