One of the issues of concern in the Republic story is the appointment of a receiver. The first receiver was Augustus Prom who was appointed by High Court Judge Amina Saho Ceesay in 2018. Soon after Augustus Prom was sacked and then Alpha Kapital Advisory was appointed as the receiver. Why?
According to the Companies Act Section 180(3), it is either the court that appoints a receiver or trustees and creditors of a company. A receivership occurs for a variety of reasons, but the most common reason is when a borrower defaults on one or more loans. Ultimately, the receiver must be independent and have the authority to sell company assets.
The question now is why was a receiver appointed for the sale of assets stolen by Yaya Jammeh? It is obvious that Yaya Jammeh was not a company and the assets he owned were stolen properties taken from private individuals, businesses, other entities, communities and from public resources of all sorts. He went further to use those funds and resources to acquire even more assets. Therefore, why should there be a receiver for the disposal of these assets?
Given the nature of these assets, why did the Government not create another public body to oversee the management and disposal of the assets than to hire someone else? For example, for victims’ reparation, the Government created a Reparations Commission to manage payment of reparations. Why was an asset disposal commission or committee not created in the same way to oversee the matter thereby saving millions for the country.
When the new Government took over, they froze some of these assets and took custody of others through the courts and the Janneh Commission. Yaya Jammeh had no creditors or debtors who needed to be paid back like a company. Rather, the whole idea of the Janneh Commission was the determine his corrupt activities, secure the assets, and then dispose of them through selling or returning them to their owners or keep others for the state.
For that matter, why did the Government appoint a receiver to be paid millions of dalasi for an exercise that is not a business operation? What is even more scandalous is when the Ministry of Justice or the so-called ministerial committee sacked a court-appointed receiver to single-handedly identify and appoint their own receiver? What is the justification for that?
In the Republic’s story, the former Minister of Justice Abubacarr Tambadou said Alpha Kapital was hired by the so-called ministerial committee. The committee comprised Tambadou himself together with fellow ministers – Hamat Bah, Musa Drammeh and Amie Fabureh. Why did they abandon a court-appointed receiver and unilaterally appoint another receiver? Why did they agree to grant their appointed receiver 10% when the court-appointed receiver was paid 3% commission?
According to the Republic,
“Media reports have indicated that Barry was working with a former banker, Binta Sompo Ceesay — now the wife of former minister Tambadou, to dispose of the assets. The firm makes 10% on all assets sold and 5% on all shares liquidated, according to its agreement with the Ministry of Justice. The Janneh Commission had earlier protested a similar 10% fee being taken by court-appointed Augustus Prom, demanding a reduction to 3%.”
Why did the so-called ministerial committee or the Ministry of Justice grant 10% and 5% to Alpha Kapital beyond and above the 3% that the Janneh Commission gave to Augustus Prom? No wonder Alpha Kapital made D89 million according to the Republic. Which law did they follow to reach these decisions?
The Companies Act (2013) states in Section 184 that when a receiver is appointed, it must be advertised.
“Where a receiver or a receiver and manager is appointed by the court, advertisement to this effect shall be made by the receiver or the receiver and manager in the Gazette and in two daily newspapers widely need in The Gambia.”
Were the appointments of Augustus Prom as well as Alpha Kapital ever published in the Gazette and in two daily newspapers that are widely read in the Gambia?
Meanwhile, the Republic indicated that Alpha Kapital was registered in 2017 and remained inactive until when the sale of Jammeh assets began in 2019 to 2022. It never declared revenue to tax authorities nor paid any tax in 2017 and 2018. It started to declare its revenue and paid tax only in 2019 and 2020. In all, Alpha Kapital declared only a little over D44.3M for 2019 and 2022 as its revenue. But in actual fact, the company made over D89M, i.e., twice the amount it declared in the entire business. Why?
In light of the foregoing, I urge citizens to read this Republic story once more because serious issues of law, ethics and professionalism have been raised that require our attention. Above all, I urge the National Assembly to open a special inquiry to get to the bottom of the issue. In this regard, political parties and CSOs as well as the media should delve deeper into this report because it touches the vey soul and destiny of the Gambia.
For The Gambia, Our Homeland
