The defence
recently filed a no-case-to-answer submission on behalf of the accused persons
in the AMRC economic crime case, at the Special Criminal Court in Banjul before
Justice Emmanuel NKea.
The accused persons are Abdoulie B. Tamba, former managing director of the Assets and Management Recovery Corporation (AMRC), Abdoulie Dibba, former commercial director of the AMRC, and Yusupha M. Jaiteh, former acting -financial director of the AMRC, who are arraigned under a five-count charge which included economic crime and abuse of office.
In his submission, defence counsel Lamin S. Camara told the court the two accused persons are charged with two counts of economic crime specified offence and referred the court to the particulars of offences.
Counsel argued that from the indictment, it was the responsibility of the state to prove the charges against the accused persons, and all what they needed was to prove the prima facie case against the accused persons.
However, he went on, the state must adduced evidence that the accused persons had, in selling rice and cement as per count 1 and 2, acted recklessly, willfully and fraudulently and caused monitory loss to the state.
Counsel stated that if the court should peruse the charges, it would come to realise that the charges were wrong, submitting that the prosecution had woefully failed to meet the test of the prima facie case.
He added that the prosecution had failed to prove the mains rarer, further stating that the prosecution witnesses told the court that the accused persons were acting on the orders of the managing director and the board of AMRC. Hence, he referred the court to the evidence of the witnesses.
He also submitted that the AMRC had a board of directors and the 1st accused, Tamba, was answerable to the board, whilst the 2nd and 3rd accused were answerable to the managing director, Tamba, who was out of the country’s jurisdiction.
The prosecution’s witnesses’ evidence in this case are so incredible and unreliable for the court to convict the accused persons and the evidence of the prosecution’s witnesses from 1 to 5 were discredited during cross-examination, hence the court could not rely on them, Counsel Camara stated.
The case continues.
It was stated on count one that Abdoulie B. Tamba, Abdoulie Dibba and Yusupha M. Jaiteh, between 2009 and 2010, in Banjul, within the jurisdiction of the court whilst holding public office, willfully and recklessly caused monetary loss to Assets Management and Recovery Corporation (AMRC) to the tune of D15,450,000 by selling rice and cement to various individuals on credit without proper collaterals.
The charge sheet on count two stated that Abdoulie B. Tamba, Abdoulie Dibba and Yusupha M. Jaiteh, between 2009 and 2010, in Banjul, within the jurisdiction of the court whilst holding public office, willfully and recklessly caused monetary loss to the Assets Management and Recovery Corporation (AMRC) to the tune of D7,200,000 by fraudulently converting same to the use of Samcad Holding.
Count three read that Abdoulie Dibba and Yusupha M. Jaiteh, and another at large, between 2009 and 2010, in Banjul, within the jurisdiction of the court, whilst holding public office, in abuse of the authority of their office, took a loan of D67,200,000 on behalf of Assets Management and Recovery Corporation (AMRC) without the necessary approval of the Board of Directors.
Count four indicated that Abdoulie Dibba and Yusupha M. Jaiteh, and another at large, between 2009 and 2010, in Banjul, within the jurisdiction of the court, whilst holding public office, in abuse of the authority of their office, took a loan of D49,751,520 on behalf of Assets Management and Recovery Corporation without the necessary approval of the Board of Directors.
Count five further stated that Abdoulie Dibba and Yusupha M. Jaiteh, and another at large, between 2009 and 2010, in Banjul, within the jurisdiction of the court, whilst holding public office, fraudulently converted to the use of Samcad Holding Ltd the sum of D7,200,000 being money belonging to the Assets Management and Recovery Corporation.