By Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Justice Section reported on Thursday it has secured the forfeiture of a Maryland residence obtained by former Gambian President Yahya Jammeh with about $3.5 million in alleged corruption proceeds as a result of a have faith in set up by his spouse.

Jammeh seized electrical power of the little West African nation in a 1994 coup. He was pressured out after getting rid of a 2016 election to the current president, Adama Barrow, and fled to Equatorial Guinea. He has denied allegations of wrongdoing.

A court docket-ordered judgment and buy of forfeiture had appear on Tuesday, the Justice Section stated. The judgment was the end result of a civil forfeiture grievance submitted by the United States in 2020 trying to get the forfeiture of the Maryland residence, the office said in a statement on Thursday.

Gambia’s governing administration on Wednesday stated it acknowledged a advice by a truth of the matter and reconciliation commission that the exiled Jammeh be prosecuted for killings and other suspected crimes from his time in business office.

The United States alleged that Jammeh corruptly obtained millions of pounds through the misappropriation of stolen community cash and the solicitation of bribes from firms looking for to acquire monopoly rights in excess of different sectors of the Gambian economic system.

“The United States intends to offer the assets, and advise to the Lawyer General that the net proceeds from the sale of the forfeited property be used to profit the individuals of The Gambia harmed by previous President Jammeh’s acts of corruption and abuse of business,” the Justice Department explained on Thursday.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh Editing by Sandra Maler)