A magistrates’ court in the Gambian capital, Banjul, on Thursday failed to deliver its ruling on the exparte motion filed by the prosecution as well as the defense attorneys’ reply to the motion in the case of Austrian national Manuel Stofleth Mitterer, who has been dragged to court, on the charge of disobedience to lawful order.
The Gambian police slammed the charge against Mr. Mitterer following his refusal to comply with an order from the police to allow investigators to access his cryptocurrency account, business transaction details and other information deemed vital to their investigation. He reportedly denied police investigators access to his computer, prompting the police to take the legal route.
It could be recalled that the Austrian was a little more than two months ago invited to the Gambia’s national police HQ in Banjul after a criminal complaint was lodged against him by his business partners Ebrima Solomon Tamba, a Gambian national, and Dutch Marcel Lambertus Teunis van Andel. Tamba and Andel, according to informed sources, decided to involve the police after Mr. Mitterer reportedly failed to render an account of the returns on their investments.
The trio, according to sources, partnered in 2020 to build holiday apartments and despite Manuel’s reported assurance that the apartments were selling well in the European market, the Austrian could not reportedly give his partners a cogent explanation as to where the proceeds from the purported apartment sales had gone. At one point, he reportedly claimed to have converted the money into bitcoins but when Tamba and Andel pressured him to convert the coins into convertible currencies such as euro, he failed.
However, during the investigation, Manuel “refused” the Gambian police access to his “cryptocurrency account” and other vital details.
His legal case could not proceed last Thursday due to the absence from the court of presiding magistrate Tabally.
It has been alleged that Manuel Stofleth Mitterer has been enjoying the backing of individuals such as Gambian citizen Banta Jaiteh. Sources claimed to JollofNews that Jaiteh, alongside Mitterer’s lawyers Sheriff Tambedou and Ida Drammeh, have written a letter to the Office of the President on behalf of Manuel with the objective of trivializing the investigations against Manuel and his partner Angelika though JollofNews cannot confirm this claim.
Meanwhile, those who knew Manuel and Angelika before meeting Solomon and Marcel, described them as unemployed and broke.
“Before meeting Solomon and Marcel in The Gambia, Manuel and Angelika were jobless and penniless. In fact, it’s because of the land that has been provided by Solomon and Marcel that they were able to buy a piece of land at Brufut Heights,” an individual, who claimed to have crossed paths with the Austrians, claimed.
“What’s more disgusting and disgraceful is the fact that Manuel and Angelika committed such a flagrant violation of the laws of the land by defrauding Tamba and Andel, yet they blatantly refused to comply with the authorities of the land. And it would appear a magistrate/judge and so-called influential figures in the system are protecting them,” one man familiar with the case stated.
“I think we have a serious problem in our country. Foreign criminals can be more powerful than hard-working citizens and they would be shielded by the same people, who are supposed to protect the interests of citizens both within and outside the country,” said another, adding,”I feel very depressed about the direction of our country whenever I think about this case.”
Meanwhile, the Sheriff Division of the high court has reportedly compelled Solomon and Marcel to allow Manuel to proceed with the construction of the Bitcoin Tower in Bijilo, which is also at the centre of dispute between the trio.
“The court failed to consider the fact that Manuel had taken money from investors and banked it in bitcoins and a bank account in Europe without the knowledge of his partners. And the court is comfortable with that? I can’t believe this is indeed happening,” said one of the officers of the court.
Mr. Mitterer meantime announced on his social media platform that: At the Bitcoin Tower, we recently faced a brief construction pause but the challenges have been resolved and the building work now continues with renewed energy.”
