Africa-Press – Gambia. The governor of the Central Bank of The Gambia, Buah Saidy, appeared Tuesday before the National Assembly’s Special Select Committee examining the sale and management of assets seized from former President Yahya Jammeh.
In his testimony, Mr. Saidy detailed how two bank accounts—one in U.S. dollars and another in Gambian Dalasi—were created to receive funds recovered from the liquidation of assets tied to Mr. Jammeh, his associates, and companies linked to him. Those accounts also received transfers from commercial bank accounts previously controlled by the former president.
Mr. Saidy noted that he was not the governor of the central bank when the Janneh Commission, the inquiry that investigated Jammeh-era financial dealings, began its work or submitted its final report. He assumed office in October 2020, he said, but expressed confidence that the bank complied with all legal requirements during the relevant period.
Questioned by committee counsel Kah, Mr. Saidy confirmed that the dollar-denominated account was opened on Oct. 3, 2017. Its signatories include Muhammed Lamin Bah, now The Gambia’s ambassador to the United States; Clara Saine Mendy, the accountant general; and three senior officials in the Accountant General’s Department—Musa Bah, Ousman Darboe, and Mbye Nyang.
“Who are the signatories to the dollar account? Counsel Kah asked.
The witness said the signatories to that account are Muhammed Lamin Bah, the current Ambassador of the Gambia to the United States of America, and the current Accountant General of the Gambia, Clara Saine Mendy; Deputy Accountant General Musa Bah; Deputy Accountant General Ousman Darboe, and Mbye Nyang. He said the account was opened on October 3rd, 2017.
The first transaction in the account, he said, occurred on Oct. 20, 2017, with a deposit of $258,506.25. By Sept. 17, 2025, the account’s balance had fallen to zero. Mr. Saidy told lawmakers that the total withdrawals amounted to $2,105,547.57, a figure equal to the full deficit in the account.
He testified that all withdrawals from the account were undertaken on the instructions of the accountant general, who determined the destination of each transfer.
According to Mr. Saidy, the funds were channeled into various government accounts, including those for the Asset Recovery Unit, the Constitutional Review Commission, the Janneh Commission itself, and other official bodies.
Turning to the dalasi account, Mr. Saidy testified that it was opened on Sept. 8, 2017. Its first transaction, recorded on Sept. 24, 2017, reflected an opening balance of D3,025,587.13. That sum, he said, had been held in a commercial bank account linked to Mr. Jammeh and was transferred to the central bank on the commission’s instructions.
The committee is continuing its inquiry into how funds and assets recovered from the Jammeh era were managed, amid persistent public scrutiny over transparency and accountability in the aftermath of the former president’s 22-year rule.
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