Africa-Press – Gambia. Louis Prom, a representative of the Augustus Prom firm — the court-appointed receiver of assets belonging to former President Yahya Jammeh — has alleged that his firm faced significant pressure from both the Social Security and Housing Finance Corporation (SSHFC) and the former Attorney General to hand over control of the Ocean Bay and Sun Beach hotels to SSHFC.
Testifying on Monday before the National Assembly Committee investigating the sale of Jammeh’s assets, Prom recounted that SSHFC filed a motion before the Janneh Commission in pursuit of the hotels. He said his firm resisted what he described as attempts to “misguide” them in the process.
Prom further disclosed that his firm received a letter from the former Attorney General instructing them not to oppose SSHFC’s motion. He also recalled a phone call from the Attorney General’s Chambers to discuss his firm’s role as the receiver of Jammeh’s assets.
“We had a phone call from one of the state counsels, Kimbeh Tah. He gave us the overview of the engagement. By that time, the Ministry of Justice already had our profile in terms of the services we offer. They requested if we would be interested; we told him we would get back to him.” Prom testified.
He stated that a subsequent meeting was convened at the Ministry of Justice to discuss the firm’s engagement and associated fees. Following this meeting, the ministry issued a formal letter regarding the matter.
According to him, representatives from his firm attended the meeting, alongside former Solicitor General Cherno Marenah, senior police officers, former Registrar General Alieu Jallow, and the former Director of Litigation.
“It was like a task force, and the former Solicitor General Marenah was chairing the meeting.”
He testified that during the meeting, they were urged to act swiftly. “I remember the word ‘you have to move fast’ (during the meeting) which we did in terms of visiting locations, writing to the banks, and freezing assets,” he recounted.
He clarified that the issue of payment for his firm’s services was not discussed at that meeting but addressed in a subsequent one. Following that, they submitted a fee proposal, which was later approved by the Attorney General’s Chambers.
The court order was secured on May 22, 2017. According to Prom, the order was forwarded to his firm with accompanying cover letters—one from the Attorney General’s office and another from the Sheriff Division. However, he noted that the Attorney General’s letter was received after the High Court date.
Regarding the establishment of the task force, Prom stated that he does not recall receiving any formal invitation to join. “It was discussed during initial meeting.”
At the commencement of their work, he explained that they first visited the abattoir in Abuko, where they provided a briefing and delivered a copy of the High Court order. They also visited Kanilai Group International (KGI) and informed the relevant banks that a receiver had been appointed. However, he noted that the majority of the companies—approximately 90 percent—were dormant. “Some of them didn’t have assets, but the main active ones are the Abattoir and KGI,” he said.
Regarding the Ocean Bay and Sun Beach Hotels, Mr. Prom stated that it was the Social Security and Housing Finance Corporation (SSHFC) that initially approached his firm with a proposal to hand over the properties to tourism-based companies.
“They told us that they have received offers for the hotels that are more lucrative, and I think the initial request was to terminate the lease. So, we did our due diligence and got back to them that we cannot terminate the lease because the matter is at the high court, and also the Janneh Commission has frozen these hotels through legal barriers. Then they came back and said, we cannot terminate the lease,” Prom said.
According to Mr. Prom, Social Security later acknowledged that the leases could not be terminated. Saying, “To be honest, I felt that at that point they were trying to misguide us, but we were more mentally alert. We explained to them the whole structure, and then they came back and said they wanted management contact so that these new operators can take over the hotels,” he asserted.
Prom clarified that the Romanian investors had a lease agreement with a parent company based in Dubai, and a separate management contract existed between that parent company and its subsidiary, VPI Tourism.
“What the Romanians did was they had the lease and with the parent company in Dubai and have another subsidiary (VPI Tourism) that had a management contract with that parent company in Dubai. So, there’s already a management contract in place. So, there’s no way we can transfer the hotel legally,” he explained.
He stated that at the time, they faced immense pressure, to the point where they nearly resigned. It was widely known that the lease was under dispute at the High Court between the owner and the Romanians and that the court had frozen the lease. Additionally, there was a management contract in place.
“The receiver had their barriers, everybody knew this but it was like as if they were trying to use us or misguide us. We told them, there is no way. We sympathize. We know Social Security was in charge of pensions, we take in to account it is a government entity and if we had legal safe option to transfer we would have done it but we couldn’t.”
He stated that at one point, Social Security submitted a motion to the Janneh Commission, seeking to compel the receiver, Augustus Prom Firm, to transfer the hotels to them. The motion, filed by Abdoulie Sissaho, was challenged by their legal team, who appeared before the commission. The chairman of the Janneh Commission dismissed Social Security’s motion on the grounds that the issue was already before the High Court. Consequently, this outcome he alleged displeased certain parties.
“I remember wording to compel the receiver, Augustus Prom Firm, to release the hotels to Social Security. It was filed by Abdoulie Sissaho. Our lawyer went to the Janneh Commission, and social security lost the case. The chairman of the Janneh Commission dismissed the motion of Social Security because the matter was already at the high court. As a result, certain parties were not pleased with us,” he said.
He stated that they were confronting what he called a powerful cabal intent on acquiring the hotels. “We didn’t release it, and I am glad we didn’t.” He explained that after the Social Security Fund lost the case at the Janneh Commission, they eventually withdrew their pursuit. He also revealed that the former Attorney General was displeased with their firm’s role as receivers, specifically for not transferring the VPI tourism hotels to interested buyers. “There’s evidence to that effect because the former AG wrote to us telling us not to block the motion of Social Security.”
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