Marie Therese Gomez, Registrar of Companies
By Fatou Sillah
Marie Therese Gomez, the Registrar of Companies, has revealed that several companies linked to former President Yahya Jammeh and his close associates remain listed on the official register despite previous liquidation efforts.
Appearing before the National Assembly Select Committee investigating the sale and disposal of assets belonging to the former president, Gomez explained that the process of liquidating a company involves convening a meeting with the company and its creditors, setting a timeframe for fulfilling outstanding obligations, and officially registering the company’s dissolution.
“Maybe after the expiration of a specified period of time, the company is deemed to be dissolved,” she said.
However, Gomez informed the committee that none of the companies identified in their inquiry had been formally dissolved, and many remain active in the register.
Counsel Kah questioned the witness on whether the Registrar’s office had received any information regarding assets belonging to these companies, noting that some were reportedly sold between 2019 and 2020.
“Did the company’s registrar ever receive information about these assets? Some of the assets were sold in 2019 and 2020, so is this reflected on the register?” Kah asked.
Gomez responded that she had not encountered any such records in the current company database, adding that no additional files exist beyond the registration documents.
Kah further reminded the witness that former Attorney General Ba Tambedou had testified that a receiver was appointed to liquidate assets of Jammeh-linked companies and that a list of these entities was forwarded to the Registrar for completion of the liquidation process.
“Which means that, generally, these companies shouldn’t have been found on the register if that was done,” she said.
In response, Gomez noted that some of the companies were originally registered under the manual system and are still being migrated into the new electronic system.
During the proceedings, Gomez was taken through several companies associated with Jammeh and his associates. She testified that Kora Media Corporation, incorporated in 2015, last filed its annual return in 2017 and remains listed as an active entity. She added that efforts are underway to strike off companies that have failed to file required returns.
Regarding Green Industries Company, she stated that it was incorporated under the 1955 Companies Act on May 12, 2007, with shareholders including the Government of The Gambia, Kanilai Family Farm, and Sheriff Nyang. The company also remains on the register.
Africana Microfinance Gambia Limited, incorporated in 2014 and renamed in 2015, is still listed as active. Kanilai Worni Family Farm, incorporated on October 14, 1998, has not filed any returns since 2015 and remains registered.
On Sindola Safari Lodge Ltd., Gomez said the company could not be found in the current database, suggesting that it may not have been properly migrated. She added that Gambech Company and the Jammeh Foundation are also absent from the system.
Gomez further testified that Kanilai Group International (KGI) was incorporated on April 26, 2010, under the 1955 Act, with shareholders Kanilai Worni Farm and Zainab Yahya Jammeh. It was later re-registered under the Single Window Business Registration Act in 2015 but has not been struck off.
Other companies still active on the register include Farm Growth and Royal Africa Security Brokerage Company Gambia Ltd., among others.
The testimony comes after former Attorney General Ba Tambedou told the committee that these entities had been liquidated and struck off following the Janneh Commission’s recommendations.
Counsel Kah, however, pointed out that Gomez had served as Registrar of Companies for two years and could have worked with the Ministry of Justice to ensure the Commission’s recommendations were fully implemented.