By: Fatou Krubally
A parliamentary committee has given the Attorney General a 30-day deadline to explain the status of several bank accounts linked to former President Yahya A. J. J. Jammeh and entities associated with him.
This followed concerns that some of the accounts remain active, dormant, or still holding funds years after the asset recovery process began.
The directive forms part of findings from a parliamentary review of bank accounts earlier investigated by the Janneh Commission.
The committee examined records from the Central Bank of The Gambia and several commercial banks to determine whether recoverable funds were properly transferred to state accounts and whether the related accounts were formally closed.
According to the committee, Jammeh and companies linked to him held accounts across multiple banks, including Arab Gambia Islamic Bank, Vista Bank, First Bank of Nigeria, Zenith Bank (Gambia) Limited, Bloom Bank Africa and Guaranty Trust Bank.
At Arab Gambia Islamic Bank, two accounts belonging to Kanilai Family Farms were reported to have zero balances and were blocked. However, the committee said it did not receive documentary confirmation showing that the accounts were formally closed following the recovery process.
Lawmakers also reviewed several accounts at Vista Bank held under entities associated with the former president, including Euro Africa Group Limited, Kanilai Family Farm and Alhamdulillah Petroleum and Mineral Company. While some of the accounts were found to be dormant or holding no funds, others still contained balances.
Records show that accounts linked to Euro Africa Group Limited held more than D600,000 in recent records, while another Kanilai Family Farm account had over D7,900 as of 2025.
The committee further noted that several accounts across different entities had accumulated negative balances due to bank charges, indicating that they remained administratively open long after the asset recovery directives were issued.
At First Bank of Nigeria, the committee confirmed the existence of a Kanilai Group International account with a closing balance of more than D73,000.
The report also indicated that withdrawals were made from the account on May 24, 2017, two days after a court ordered the freezing of Jammeh-related accounts.
Accounts examined at Guaranty Trust Bank were also found to hold funds in multiple currencies, including dalasi, US dollars, euros and pounds sterling.
One investment account linked to Kanilai Group was reported to still be recording transactions.
The committee said it could not obtain sufficient documentary evidence confirming whether some of the funds identified in the accounts were transferred to the government’s asset recovery account.
As a result, lawmakers have recommended that the Attorney General’s Chambers of The Gambia submit a detailed written explanation to the National Assembly within 30 days of the publication of the report, clarifying the status of the accounts and why some remain active, dormant or subject to continued bank charges.
They also urged the Accountant General to review the accounts and ensure that any recoverable funds are transferred to the appropriate government accounts while dormant accounts are formally closed.