The United States Department of Justice announced on Friday, September 18, 2026, that it is returning approximately $2.5 million in corruption proceeds to The Gambia. These funds are intended to compensate victims of the regime of former Gambian President Yahya Jammeh. Jammeh and his wife, Zineb Jammeh, used embezzled public funds and criminal proceeds to acquire a mansion in Potomac, Maryland, which the Department of Justice subsequently forfeited and liquidated.
The specific amount returned from the sale of the Potomac mansion is $2,507,911.73 in net proceeds. This repatriation was facilitated by cooperation between officials from The Gambia and the United States. The agreement stipulates that The Gambia will utilize these funds to compensate eligible victims as defined under the Gambian Victims Reparations Act of 2023, legislation established to address harm caused by Jammeh's corruption and abuse of office.
Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department's Criminal Division highlighted the case as an important example of international cooperation aimed at holding accountable those who exploit the U.S. financial system to conceal illicit gains. John A. Condon, Acting Executive Associate Director of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), emphasized HSI's commitment to preventing corrupt foreign officials from using the U.S. to hide or enjoy proceeds from bribery and embezzlement. HSI's Illicit Proceeds and Foreign Corruption Group, which led the investigation, has seized over $500 million in ill-gotten gains from foreign corruption since its inception in 2003.
Yahya Jammeh's two-decade rule, from 1994 to 2017, was characterized by widespread human rights abuses and the misappropriation of state funds for personal enrichment. He was forced into exile in Equatorial Guinea following his loss in the 2016 election, and since 2018, the U.S. government has barred his family from entering the country.
