By Amara Thoronka
The Governor of the Central Bank of The Gambia, Buah Saidy, has in a joint press conference held in Banjul on 23 February 2022 pledged to resign from his job as Bank Governor if the Central Bank is found culpable in the ongoing D155 million fraud investigation where a staff of the Bank is alleged to have involved.
The Governor also vowed to take legal action against the claimants of the said allegation if the Bank is proven innocent.
“There is no way someone will fraudulently bring D155 million without our knowledge. In addition to our security personnel, we also have CCTV cameras everywhere in the Bank. I have a reputation to protect. I will resign my job as Bank Governor of the Central Bank of the Gambia if the ongoing investigation finds the bank guilt of the said allegations. But if it is proven otherwise, we will take legal action against those making the allegations”
He disclosed that the said staff of the bank who is alleged to have involved in the act has been sent on leave pending conclusion of police investigation into the matter.
Preliminary police investigation has disclosed that the claimants [Ansumana Bah and Co] were lured by an organized criminal syndicate to form a charity organization in The Gambia in a bid to secure a £2.5 million (equivalence of D155) fund from a philanthropist in the United Kingdom.
The fraudsters are said to have convinced the claimants that the funds were smuggled into the country and put in boxes and kept safely in one of the houses of their partners in The Gambia; adding that the said British Pounds were converted into local currencies equivalent to D155 million partly mutilated which needed to be changed to new notes at the Central Bank; saying that some workers in the bank were asking for D11.1 million bribe to be paid through a staff of the bank, Abdou Ceesay.
The said preliminary investigation further disclosed that throughout the period, the claimants never engage the Bank but were however banking on the persuasive statements of the fraudsters.
Investigations are ongoing.
