The Gambia will use money from the forfeiture of property belonging to Former Gambian President Yahya Jammeh to compensate victims of his regime. The Gambia Reparations Commission received $2,573,414.10 following the sale of a mansion located in Maryland.
United States authorities secured the legal right to sell the Maryland property in 2022. Officials state the property was obtained using criminal proceeds and misappropriated public funds from The Gambia.
Yahya Jammeh governed The Gambia for over 20 years after seizing power in a 1994 coup. The former president lost the 2016 election to Adama Barrow and stepped down in 2017.
Jammeh moved into exile in Equatorial Guinea after leaving office. A national commission identified 281 properties owned by Jammeh within The Gambia, plus one property in Morocco.
The former leader also controlled more than 100 bank accounts and allegedly misappropriated over $300 million. A commission of inquiry determined that widespread abuses during his rule caused the deaths of between 240 and 250 Gambians and non-Gambians.
