The Gambia: Foreign Companies Paid Bribes To Evade Tax On Petroleum Imports, Lawmaker Alleges

Emmanuel EjioforAugust 7, 20241 Mins read324

Sainey Jawara, Member of Parliament for Lower Saloum, during the inquiry.

A member of The Gambia’s National Assembly, Sainey Jawara, has alleged that some officials received 600,000 Gambian Dalasi ($8,600) monthly as bribes from three foreign companies importing petroleum into the country.

The lawmaker, representing Lower Saloum, made the allegations on Tuesday during a parliamentary inquiry into bribery and tax evasion by three foreign companies: Apogee FZC, Creed Energy Limited, and Ultimate Beige Logistics.

A joint parliamentary committee, comprising the Finance and Public Accounts Committee (FPAC) and Public Enterprises Committee (PEC), is probing claims that these firms imported and sold $30 million worth of petroleum products from Russia without paying taxes.

Jawara said sources close to the deal informed him that the oil shipment was initially intended for Ghana but diverted to The Gambia after failing to meet Ghana’s petroleum policy requirements. Officials from Creed Energy and Ultimate Beige reportedly travelled to The Gambia to register their companies, allowing the shipment from Apogee to dock and sell in The Gambia, he said.

“I was told this vessel spent two months in our sea while negotiations were ongoing,” Jawara testified to the inquiry.

He further alleged that there was no record of income from the petroleum sales, and the Financial Investigation Unit (FIU) found that the products entered the country without proper procedures.

The FIU’s intelligence report suggested that specific individuals received monthly kickbacks of D600,000 from the petroleum sales proceeds. Jawara claimed that these funds were withdrawn from an Access Bank account by one Aurimas Steblys, who was arrested and released but recommended for further investigation.

Jawara said the FIU report also indicated that the way the three companies opened sub-accounts at Access Bank and Ecobank violated the Anti-Money Laundering and Combating Terrorist Financing Act of 2012.

“I have been following this case for over a year. I have real facts. If average citizens can pay taxes, why would we have exemptions for these huge amounts of transactions? No company should be exempted from paying tax unless approved by the National Assembly,” he said.

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