Bitcoin Tower Dispute: Witnesses Reveal Alleged Reason Behind Collapsed Police Case Against Austrian Bitcoin Tower Investors

Written by: Seringe S.T. Touray

The Fatu Network has learned from multiple witnesses that Gambian businessman and Kunta Kinteh Beach Complex owner Ebrima Solomon Tamba allegedly stated that he reported Austrian investors and developers Manuel and Angelika Mitterer to the police because Manuel took control of Tamba’s shares in Kasumai Real Estate.

Kasumai Real Estate is the company behind the unfinished Bitcoin Tower and The Edge developments in Bijilo.

Witnesses say Tamba indicated this was the reason he went to the police, allegedly telling Manuel, “I reported you to the police because you sold my shares,” a complaint that later became the basis of a police investigation and criminal case against the Austrian couple.

As detailed in The Fatu Network’s earlier investigations, Tamba’s shares in Kasumai Real Estate had been pledged as security for a €165,000 loan Manuel had given him. After Tamba failed to repay under the signed agreement, Manuel exercised his contractual right to take ownership of the shares, a move that became a major turning point in the wider Bitcoin Tower dispute.

Tamba’s alleged remarks were made during a dispute on Saturday at a jointly owned farm project in Berending, West Coast Region, just days after Manuel and Angelika were acquitted by the Banjul Magistrates’ Court in the criminal case that saw their passports and property held for nearly a year.

Manuel had previously accused Tamba and business associate Marcel van Andel of financial irregularities and commissioned an independent audit that questioned approximately D18 million in project-related payments, of which auditors said only D5 million was supported by receipts.

The Fatu Network contacted Mr. Tamba for comment. No response had been received at the time of publication.

This is the sixth in a series of reports.