Mohammed Bazzi has been banned from entering Gambian territory following the release of a 93-page report, an excerpt of the report of the Commission of Inquiry widely called the Janneh Commission, in which the government accepts a recommendation that he (Bazzi) be declared persona non grata.
That recommendation is particularly reinforced by the fact that Mr. Bazzi was, on 17 May, 2018, designated a specially designated Global Terrorist by the U.S. Department of the Treasury to Executive Order (E.O.) 13224.
The U.S. Treasury also designated five of Mr. Bazzi’s companies on the same date including Global Trading Group N.V. and Euro African Group Ltd., both registered in The Gambia.
Mohammed Ibrahim Bazzi is a Lebanese origin and he also held a Gambian Diplomatic Passport No. D0000129, due to his positions as the consul general of The Gambia in Lebanon.
Mr. Bazzi came to The Gambia sometime end of 2000 into early 2001 and he was invited to The Gambia by Tarek Musa because he was in the electricity power business and was declared a close associate of former President Jammeh on 13 October 2017.
The former President Jammeh or alternatively, Mr. Bazzi and others are jointly and severally liable for bribes paid to former President Jammeh.
“The government is of the considered view that while former president Jammeh, Muhammed Bazzi, and others are criminally liable for these acts of bribery and the said bribes should be recovered from the assets of former President Jammeh,” the report pointed out.
“Because it would amount to double jeopardy to ask Mohammed Bazzi and others to pay the same monies that they have already paid to former President Jammeh, even as a bribe,” it continued.
The government takes particular note of the Commission’s observations that Mr. Bazzi among others was a non-citizen and non-resident of The Gambia who was painfully exploitative and contributed nothing of very little to the economy and welfare of The Gambia.
“He had no respect for Gambians or Gambian institutions and in his quest for wealth, he focused only on profits mostly unlawfully obtained through bribes and other illegitimate means including collusion with former President Jammeh. He greatly contributed to the near ruin of The Gambia,” the report indicated.
The government also accepts the commission’s recommendation that the owing companies associated with following companies associated with Mohammed Bazzi should be permanently banned and they are hereby permanently banned from participating in any government procurement.
The report also pointed out that all existing contracts of government with any of the said companies shall be forthwith and immediately cancelled where appropriate and all shares belonging to Mohammed Bazzi in these companies are hereby forfeited to the state.
