The former leader of The Gambia, Yahya Jammah has been sanctioned by the United States of America as part of measures being taken by the Trump administration against corrupt individuals.
Yahya Jammeh is accused of looting state funds of over $50 million while in office until his exit from power this year.
Jammeh is now living in exile in Equatorial Guinea following an agreement that led to him accepting to leave office after losing a presidential election.
A US Treasury statement said “Jammeh created a terror and assassination squad called the Junglers that answered directly to him. Jammeh used the Junglers to threaten, terrorise, interrogate, and kill individuals whom Jammeh assessed to be threats”.
During his tenure, Jammeh used a number of corrupt schemes to plunder The Gambia’s state coffers or otherwise siphon off state funds for his personal gain. Ongoing investigations continue to reveal Jammeh’s large-scale theft from state coffers prior to his departure” the statement further added.
According to the US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin the new policy, shows how serious the US wants to “stand against human rights abuse and corruption globally by shutting these bad actors out of the US financial system.”
He said “Treasury is freezing their assets and publicly denouncing the egregious acts they’ve committed, sending a message that there is a steep price to pay for their misdeeds.”
Source: Africafeeds.com
