Court hears lawyer Essa Faal owed money in D58.9m fraud case
GACH Global Trading Company Limited is suing two former officials over funds allegedly obtained through a fraudulent petroleum supply deal.
Essa Faal, a prominent Gambian lawyer and politician, came up on Wednesday during a civil fraud case over a D58.9 million dispute at the High Court in Banjul. During cross-examination, plaintiff's counsel Ida Drameh asked second defendant Saihou Drammeh whether he knew Faal, and he said he did. Drameh then put it to him that Faal had subsequently owed money, which Drammeh acknowledged before Justice Ebrima Jaiteh.
Drammeh rejected the claim that he had said Faal used the money on politics, answering "No, My Lord" when asked whether he had made that statement. Earlier in the hearing, Drameh had suggested Drammeh complained that Kebba Ceesay registered two apartments valued at €48,000 in his own name, an allegation Drammeh also rejected.
The suit, GACH Global Trading Company Limited against Kaddijatou Kebbeh and Saihou Drammeh, was filed in January 2022. The company seeks over D58.9 million and $221,000 tied to a September 2021 petroleum product agreement, plus interest of 24% and 4% until payment.
Why it mattersIf the court finds for GACH Global, the two defendants must repay D58.9 million plus $221,000 and pay interest of 24% and 4%.