The United States Department of Justice says it returned approximately $2.5 million of corruption proceeds to The Gambia to compensate victims of Yahya Jammeh, the former president of The Gambia.

In a statement on Friday, the Office of Public Affairs of the U.S. Department of Justice said the former president and his wife, Zineb Jammeh, used criminal proceeds and misappropriated Gambian public funds to purchase a mansion in Potomac, Maryland, for their personal use.

It said the Department of Justice liquidated the property in United States v. Real Property Located in Potomac, MD, Commonly Known as 9908 Bentcross Drive, 8:20-cv-2071 (D. Md.).

“As alleged in the complaint, Yahya Jammeh corruptly obtained millions of dollars through the embezzlement of public funds and the solicitation of bribes from businesses seeking to obtain monopoly rights over various sectors of the Gambian economy,” it said.

It said Mr Jammeh conspired with his family members and close associates to utilise a host of shell companies and overseas trusts to launder his corrupt proceeds throughout the world.

“This case is an important example of international cooperation to hold accountable those who use our financial system to attempt to hide illicit criminal proceeds,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.

“Returning these funds forfeited from the former leader to compensate his victims demonstrates our commitment to recover funds taken in violation of the rule of law and to return them for the benefit of victims in a lawful process”, the statement reads.

“Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) remains committed to protecting the integrity of the U.S. financial system by ensuring that corrupt foreign officials cannot use the United States to hide, move, or enjoy the proceeds of bribery, embezzlement, and abuse of office,” said Acting Executive Associate Director John A. Condon of HSI.

“This return of approximately $2.5 million to The Gambia demonstrates the impact of HSI’s illicit finance investigations and our enduring partnerships to identify, seize, and return stolen assets for the benefit of victims harmed by corruption.”

The statement said the recovered funds from the sale of the mansion in Potomac, Maryland, resulted in the return of $2,507,911.73 in net proceeds to The Gambia, based on the valuable assistance of officials of The Gambia in cooperation with the United States, which facilitated the successful forfeiture.

It added that the agreement entered into with The Gambia provides that it will use the funds to compensate eligible victims of the Jammeh regime, as defined under the Gambian Victims Reparations Act of 2023, which was established to benefit the people harmed by former President Jammeh’s acts of corruption and abuse of office.

According to the statement, the investigation was conducted by HSI’s Illicit Proceeds and Foreign Corruption Group in Miami, with the assistance of HSI Baltimore and the HSI Attaché Office in Dakar.

HSI established the group in 2003 to conduct investigations into the laundering of proceeds emanating from foreign public corruption, bribery, and embezzlement. HSI’s goal is to prevent foreign-derived, ill-gotten gains from entering the U.S. financial infrastructure.

It added that the case was handled by Trial Attorneys Steven Parker and Kaycee Sullivan of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section.

“Substantial assistance was provided by the government of The Gambia, the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, the U.S. Department of State, and the U.S. Department of the Treasury,” it said.