The U.S. department of justice said Wednesday that it is seeking the recovery of Yahya Jammeh’s $3.5 million mansion in Maryland which was acquired through a trust set up by his wife, Zaineb Jammeh.
The former Gambian leader who led a 22-year brutal dictatorship has been found to embezzle at least $361.5 million from state funds, according to a commission which investigated his financial activities.
US prosecutors accused Jammeh of conspiring with his family members and close associates to utilise a host of shell companies and overseas trusts to launder his corrupt proceeds throughout the world.
These include through the purchase of a multimillion-dollar mansion in Potomac, Maryland, which the United States is now seeking to forfeit through the filing of a civil forfeiture complaint.
The suit comes 10 months after the U.S. said it was ready to support the Gambian government’s efforts to recover the “ill-gotten gains” by looking into available legal means.
“Our action today highlights the tireless work of the Criminal Division’s Kleptocracy Initiative and their global law enforcement partners to protect the integrity of the U.S. financial system and recover the ill-gotten gains of corrupt officials,” acting Assistant Attorney General, Brian C. Rabbitt, said in a July 15 statement.
In September, Gambia said it plans to prosecute its former leader for looting public funds after a Commission of Inquiry, established by President Adama Barrow, recommended that charges be brought against Jammeh. That Commission also recommended that Jammeh’s wife be prosecuted.
Gambia’s Justice Minister at the time, Abubacarr Tambadou, said the government intends to submit a motion in the national assembly for charges to be brought against Jammeh for “theft and corruption”.
An Attorney for the District of Maryland said Jammeh and his wife thought that they could hide funds stolen from the Gambian people by buying a mansion in the U.S.
“This action demonstrates that the United States will not allow criminals to profit from their crimes and will seek justice for crime victims both here and abroad,” Attorney Robert K. Hur said in a statement.
On Wednesday, acting Executive Associate Director, Alysa Erichs of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), said the “HSI will not tolerate our country being used by foreign officials to hide their corrupt activities and launder their illicit proceeds.”
Jammeh now lives in exile in Equatorial Guinea after he was forced out of office by West African military forces in 2017.
