Parliamentary Probe Details Massive Revenue Losses in Jammeh Asset Sales

Written by: Dawda Baldeh

A report by a Special Select Committee of the National Assembly has detailed how weak oversight and what it described as “informal practices” during the disposal of assets linked to former president Yahya Jammeh led to significant financial losses for the state.

The assets were originally identified during the work of the Janneh Commission, which was set up in 2017 after Jammeh left power to investigate the financial dealings of his administration. The commission recommended that numerous properties, businesses, livestock and other assets believed to have been improperly acquired be seized and sold for the benefit of the state.

However, the parliamentary inquiry found that the institutions responsible for implementing those recommendations operated with weak controls and unclear oversight, allowing millions of dalasis in potential revenue to slip through gaps in record keeping and financial management. The report also points to failures involving both the Janneh Commission and the Ministry of Justice, which at the time was headed by former Attorney General and Justice Minister Abubacarr Tambadou.

One of the most striking findings relates to the handling of livestock and wildlife seized from farms linked to Jammeh. According to the committee, investigators discovered a large discrepancy between the initial number of animals counted and the number eventually reflected in sales records, leaving hundreds of animals unaccounted for.

The report states that livestock sales were often conducted through what it described as “spot pricing and offline bargaining” rather than through structured valuation or competitive bidding processes. It further noted that cash proceeds were sometimes collected in the field and placed in a physical iron briefcase before later being deposited in bank accounts, often with delays and incomplete documentation.

Beyond the farms, the inquiry also examined the financial management of landed properties and corporate shares linked to Jammeh. The committee said that instead of being deposited directly into the national treasury as required under the Public Finance Act, large sums generated from the asset sales were diverted into commercial recovery accounts.

According to the report, more than D40.7 million transferred from Jammeh linked accounts could not be traced because the final destination of the funds was not properly documented. The committee also questioned deductions made by a receiver or trustee involved in the asset recovery process, noting that GMD 25,660,065.00 was reportedly taken as fees without clear transaction records explaining how the amounts were calculated.

The inquiry further revealed concerns over the management of land and property linked to Jammeh. While the report states that about D855 million had been generated from the sale of 32 properties by 2020, investigators concluded that some valuable real estate was deliberately not brought to the attention of the commission, raising suspicions that certain assets may have been concealed from the state.

In its final assessment, the committee concluded that both the leadership of the Janneh Commission and the Ministry of Justice under Tambadou presided over what it described as a period of administrative incompetence.

Investigators said the absence of modern record keeping systems, formal operational manuals and clearly defined procedures made it difficult to track transactions and verify the true value of assets recovered from Jammeh’s administration. As a result, information that should have been readily available often had to be reconstructed through witness testimony and fragmented records.

The committee concluded that these systemic weaknesses ultimately undermined what had been intended as a major national effort to recover wealth allegedly misappropriated during Jammeh’s 22 year rule.