The Gambia Network of Journalists Against Money Laundering (GNJaML): Money Laundering Trial: Banks mandated to scrutinise financial transactions

Float from Mardi Gras 2009 in New Orleans, lampooning the money laundering trial of Louisiana State Senator Derrick Shepherd. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A Guaranty Trust Bank internal control officer has said [commercial] banks are mandated by the central bank of The Gambia under the Anti-Money Laundering Act to scrutnise financial transactions.

Ali Senghore, Officer in charge of internal control at GTBank on Kairaba Avenue, was testifying Tuesday in the trial of Omar Jallow, a Gambian, accused of money laundering.

Jallow is said to have received 38, 000 pounds (D2, 280, 000) from one Dodou Njie, a UK-based Gambian, through GTBank with intent to conceal or render assistance.

The police said Mr Jallow knows or have reason to believe that the money has being laundered by the sender or must have being unlawfully obtained.

He has denied the charge brought against him by the police in Banjul when he appeared before the Kanifing Magistrate Court on April 30.

On May 13, the 1^st witness Senghore said: “We are mandated by the Central Bank under the Anti-money laundering Act that any money that is coming into or going out of the country has to be scrutinized by the bank and Jallow’s money is not an exception.”

At GTBank, all customers accounts are assigned to account officers who monitor the financial transactions, Senghore explains. He said Jallow was interviewed about what the purpose of money is, his relationship with the sender and the whereabouts of the sender (Njie).

“In response, the accused said the money was send to him by a friend in UK and will be used for renovating a house in Fajara and to build a lodge in Casamance, southern Senegal,” the court heard from Senghore.

He said after he introduced the ‘Know Your Customer’ questionnaire and a transaction report form of the central bank, the details were contradictory to the first interview report.

“I became unsatisfied with the whole information supplied by Omar Jallow. Omar said in that report the sender’s name is Dacora, and then I become suspicious,” Ali Senghore said.

He explained that he gathered all the information from the correspondent bank and send it to the central bank and the fraud squad at the police headquarters in Banjul for investigation.

He said the money was credited to Jallow’s account at GTBank and when he knew about it he wanted to withdraw it all. “I told him that there is some information that needs to be cleared before you withdraw the whole money,” he said.

Senghore said the accused was allowed to withdraw D1.2 million while they work on the issue.

“The following day the correspondent bank Guaranty Trust Bank in UK informed us that the money was fraudulent. The total sum was D2.2 million and D1 million was freeze,” he explained.

Senghore said the accused had also told him that the sender’s name was Laity.

He said when we asked Jallow to return the money, the accused called a family member who said he was on his way to the bank with the money, but the man instead came with a cheque of D 600, 000.

Senghore said he report the matter to the Kairaba police station. He said the correspondent bank in UK sent telex message informing him that the money is owned by Daisy Recruitment Company Limited in England and the purpose of the money was for investment.

Sergeant Kolley, prosecuting, applied to tender the documents send by the witness to the fraud squad as evidence, but Jallow’s lawyer Badou Conteh objected.

Conteh said: “The documents to be tendered are not original. The original [documents] are in the custody of the bank and has to be tendered in court.”

Principal magistrate Sheriff B. Tabally, presiding, has adjourned the trial till May 22, 2014. He is expected to rule on what version of the documents should be tendered.

Source: The Voice