The United States has returned about $2.5 million to The Gambia from the sale of a Maryland mansion linked to former President Yahya Jammeh, with the money set aside to compensate victims of his 22-year rule.
- The US returned about $2.5 million to The Gambia from the sale of a Maryland mansion linked to former President Yahya Jammeh.
- The funds are destined to compensate victims of Jammeh’s 22-year rule under The Gambia’s Victims Reparations Act of 2023.
- US authorities seized and sold the property following investigations into corruption and money laundering.
- Jammeh, who led The Gambia from 1994 to 2017, is implicated in widespread abuse, and the returned funds represent international cooperation to address such corruption.
US authorities ultimately forfeited and sold the Maryland mansion linked to former Gambian President Yahya Jammeh, generating $2,507,911.73 in net proceeds for return to The Gambia.
Property website Redfin records show that the mansion was sold for $2.65 million on June 6, 2023, and is now listed as off market.
The Maryland mansion is the best-documented foreign property linked to Jammeh, with the US Department of Justice saying it was acquired for about $3.5 million through a trust established by his wife, Zineb Jammeh, using alleged corruption proceeds.
The department said Jammeh and his wife used misappropriated Gambian public funds and other alleged criminal proceeds to acquire the property for their personal use.
The 11,318-square-foot mansion sits on 2.3 acres at 9908 Bentcross Drive in Potomac, Maryland, and includes a heated swimming pool, guest house and seven-car garage.
The sale followed a US civil forfeiture case in which prosecutors alleged that Jammeh obtained millions of dollars through the embezzlement of public funds and bribes from businesses seeking monopoly rights in sectors of the Gambian economy.
The Maryland property, however, represented only a fraction of the wealth investigators linked to Jammeh and his associates. The Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project previously reported that Jammeh and his associates looted or misappropriated at least $975 million during his rule.
A Gambian commission of inquiry separately estimated that Jammeh personally stole about $363 million from the country.
Funds earmarked for Jammeh-era victims
Under an agreement between Washington and Banjul, the $2.5 million will be used to compensate eligible victims under The Gambia’s Victims Reparations Act of 2023.
The law provides a framework for reparations to people affected by human rights violations and abuses committed between July 1994 and January 2017, covering Jammeh’s 22-year rule.
Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division described the recovery as an “important example of international cooperation” aimed at preventing illicit proceeds from being hidden through the US financial system.
“Returning these funds forfeited from the former leader to compensate his victims demonstrates our commitment to recover funds taken in violation of the rule of law and to return them for the benefit of victims in a lawful process,” Duva said.
Homeland Security Investigations said the case also showed efforts to prevent foreign officials from using the US financial system to conceal proceeds linked to corruption, bribery and embezzlement.
