Hon. Sainey Jawara of Lower Saloum tabled a motion seeking to establish a commission to investigate the alleged illegal importation into the country.
Hon. Jawara pointed out that the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) intervened in the trading of certain products that were being traded without following the proper procedures through bank transactions in both Ecobank and Access Bank Gambia Limited. The FIU then requested the account opening package and statements of accounts from Access Bank and Ecobank for further investigation into the matter.
Hon. Jawara further revealed that “one Mr Aurimas Steblys was arrested and handed over to the police in Banjul for questioning and the intelligence report indicates that this name mentioned should be further investigated to establish possible criminal transactions and loss of revenue to the state. Both GRA and the Inspector General of Police were provided with an intelligence report for further action.
According to him, intelligence report was received that certain individual (s) allegedly received kickback (bribes) of D600,000 monthly, which shows that at the end of every month, this said amount is withdrawn from the Access Bank Account No.0010110000555 by one Mr Aurimas Steblys.”
“The deposits in the accounts are likely from petroleum product sales in The Gambia by Apogee through Ultimate Beige Logistic and Creed Energy Limited. Access Bank's documents reveal an agreement between Creed Energy and Crossbreed Holding Company to trade petroleum products in The Gambia. However, the agreement was objected to by Apogee FZC and was never enforced,” he revealed.
Hon. Alhagie Mbowe of Upper Saloum, said that the issue at hand needs to set up a parliamentary investigation into some of the allegations put before the Assembly.
According to Hon. Mbow, when analysing the report, it is evident that there are concerns related to the economic crisis. He added the act contravenes the Anti-Corruption Act 2023, and possible violations of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Regulations. “Additionally, there may be issues related to compliance with the Banking Act 2009. Upon closer examination, it becomes apparent that there is a potential loss of government revenue and instances of money laundering, bribery, and corruption that necessitate an independent parliamentary investigation to identify the involved parties and take appropriate action,” he added.
“Considering the banking regulations, it is clear that the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act imposes specific obligations on banks and other financial institutions. It appears that there are potential issues with compliance and ensuring that proper Know Your Customer (KYC) regulations are enforced,” he expressed.
Hon. Almameh Gibba of Foni Kansala described the issue as a threat to the country’s financial security and, thus demanded setting up two joint committees FPAG and Public Enterprise to investigate matter.
“We need to break the circle of cartels in this country. We have them. You cannot come and milk this country when you neither pay tax, no do you do the needful. And when you look at it, you’ll see a lot of withdrawal. I mean this is a game that they sit comfortably and milk resources of the government,” he concluded.
Deputies expressed concerns and urged for an investigation into the issue to be conducted immediately.
The motion was ratified to establish a parliamentary inquiry within 90 days from yesterday, tasking the relevant committees for investigation and submission of its report.
