23 May, 2017
A court in the Gambian capital Banjul Monday ordered a temporary freeze of properties belonging to the country's former long-term ruler, Yahya Jammeh.
"The application for the freezing order was necessitated by the discovery of unauthorized withdrawals of millions of dalasis and foreign currencies by former President Yahya Jammeh from the Central Bank and other state corporations", he said.
Mr Tambadou said a court order had frozen or temporarily held 88 accounts and 14 companies linked in some way to Mr Jammeh - amounting to all the politician's "known assets" remaining in The Gambia, as the country's new administration sought to prevent him "liquidating or dissipating" anything further.
While the former Gambian president had always been suspected of using the state's purse for his own gain, Monday's hearing marked the first time the new government had put an exact figure on what it believes Jammeh plundered.
Jammeh ran everything from bakeries to farms during his tenure and was regularly accused of taking over successful businesses for his own gain.
Monday's order was created to prevent Jammeh "liquidating or dissipating assets", the minister added, confirming the order applied only to the former leader's assets in The Gambia.
This is published unedited from the PTI feed. Three of his cousins have been arrested after selling his cattle.
"All indications are that these discoveries are a tip of the iceberg".
Mr Jammeh has been out of contact since he left The Gambia and has not responded to the allegations.
Jammeh, who was in office since he led the coup in 1994, lost the elections in December 2016. "Gambia's Justice Minister Baa Tambadou told journalists on Monday, during a news conference that the funds were stolen from Gamtel's main telecommunication gateway by Jammeh".
The Gambia's National Assembly was long derided for acting as a rubber stamp for Jammeh's decisions, but hopes are high for a revitalised chamber with a raft of fresh faces elected.
