Former Gampetroleum Chief Confronted With Video Evidence in €58 Million GACH Global Dispute

By Admin Last updated Mar 12, 2026

A former top executive of Gampetroleum was confronted in court with video evidence allegedly showing large sums of foreign currency being counted in his private office, as a civil suit over the alleged disappearance of millions of euros linked to a fuel transaction continued.

The case, brought by businessman Abubakary Jawara, chief executive of GACH Global Trading Company, centers on allegations of financial misconduct, breach of trust, and the misappropriation of funds estimated at about €58 million intended for petroleum supply deals.

The lawsuit names two defendants: Khadijatou Kebbeh, a former agent of GACH Global, and Saikou Drammeh, the former general manager of Gampetroleum.

During cross-examination, Drammeh was questioned extensively by lawyer K. Jallow about his professional background, his role in petroleum operations, and his dealings with the plaintiff’s company.

Drammeh told the court he is a petroleum engineer who earned a bachelor’s degree from the National Taiwan University of Science and Technology and later obtained a master’s degree in Oil and Gas Management from a university in Norway. He also underwent practical petroleum training in Venezuela.

He testified that he began his career in 2008 at the Gambia National Petroleum Corporation, where he worked as an operations officer before leaving in 2015. That same year, he joined Gampetroleum, where he rose through the ranks and became acting general manager in 2016 before being confirmed in the position in 2017. He remained in the role until 2021.

Under questioning, Drammeh acknowledged knowing Jawara as a businessman who had business dealings with Gampetroleum. He confirmed signing a throughput agreement on July 2, 2021, between Gampetroleum, Storage Pacific Limited, and GACH Global Trading Company.

The agreement, introduced in court as Exhibit P1, concerned the storage of petroleum products at Gampetroleum’s facilities. Drammeh said the arrangement followed a supply contract awarded to GACH Global by the Gambia National Petroleum Corporation and the National Water and Electricity Company.

He testified that no payments were made under the agreement because the contract required the physical supply of petroleum products before payments could be processed.

The proceedings also addressed Drammeh’s relationship with Kebbeh, whom he acknowledged had once been married to him and had worked as an agent for GACH Global. He told the court he later learned that the company had terminated her agency in 2021 following a police complaint.

A key moment in the hearing came when a video presented by the plaintiff’s legal team was played in court. The footage appears to show large quantities of cash — including euros and U.S. dollars — being counted on a table inside Drammeh’s private office.

Asked about the video, Drammeh confirmed that it was filmed in his home office but said the money was related to unspecified “petroleum business.” He said he could not recall the date the recording was made.

Witnesses for the plaintiff have claimed that bags containing large amounts of foreign currency were delivered to Drammeh’s residence as part of the disputed transaction. The defense, however, has argued that the footage lacks context and does not demonstrate that the funds belonged to GACH Global.

Drammeh also told the court that he was later dismissed from Gampetroleum after refusing to appear before a disciplinary panel he said he believed was corrupt. Under company rules, he said, failure to attend a disciplinary hearing for several days results in automatic dismissal.

The court adjourned the matter to April 30, when Drammeh’s cross-examination is expected to continue.

Below, we reproduced the questioning verbatim.

Cross-examination between counsel K. Jallow and Saikou Drammeh

Counsel K. Jallow: What is your name?

Saikou Drammeh: My name is Saikou Drammeh.

Counsel K. Jallow: Where are you from?

Saikou Drammeh: I am from Brufut.

Counsel K. Jallow: What is your occupation?

Saikou Drammeh: Petroleum Engineer.

Counsel K. Jallow: Are you the second defendant in this case?

Saikou Drammeh: Yes.

Counsel K. Jallow: Did you make an affidavit of testimony in this case on 29 June 2022?

Saikou Drammeh: Yes.

Counsel K. Jallow: Mr. Drammeh, what is your educational background?

Saikou Drammeh: I am a petroleum engineer.

Counsel K. Jallow: When you say you are a petroleum engineer, do you have any qualifications for that? Tell this court which college or university you obtained those qualifications from.

Saikou Drammeh: National Taiwan University of Science and Technology for my bachelor’s degree. After that, I went to Venezuela for practical training with a petroleum company. I later attended a university in Norway, where I obtained an MSc in Oil and Gas Management.

Counsel K. Jallow: It is therefore correct to say that you have very good expert knowledge in petroleum.

Saikou Drammeh: Yes.

Counsel K. Jallow: Because you have knowledge and expertise in petroleum, you help when assistance is needed or when someone requests help to go into the petroleum business.

Saikou Drammeh: It depends on the party.

Counsel K. Jallow: What do you mean when you say it depends on the party?

Saikou Drammeh: It depends on what the party wants and what they need at that particular time.

Counsel K. Jallow: As a professional or expert in petroleum, what guidance do you give to someone who would like to enter the petroleum business?

Saikou Drammeh: That question is very broad. It needs to be specific. You must identify the specific area in which advice is required. You cannot generally ask what advice I would give someone entering the petroleum business because that is too vague.

Counsel K. Jallow: Very well. Now tell this court the three different categories in which one can operate as an expert in petroleum.

Saikou Drammeh: Upstream, midstream, and downstream.

Counsel K. Jallow: What do you mean by midstream and downstream?

Saikou Drammeh: Refining and production fall under midstream, while downstream refers to retail trading.

Counsel K. Jallow: After obtaining these educational qualifications in petroleum, did you work anywhere in The Gambia?

Saikou Drammeh: Yes.

Counsel K. Jallow: Where?

Saikou Drammeh: GNPC (Gambia National Petroleum Corporation).

Counsel K. Jallow: When did you begin working with GNPC?

Saikou Drammeh: In 2008.

Counsel K. Jallow: In what position?

Saikou Drammeh: Operations Officer.

Counsel K. Jallow: As an operations officer, what were your duties?

Saikou Drammeh: Everything relating to the day-to-day operations.

Counsel K. Jallow: As an operations officer, were you aware of the day-to-day activities of the operations?

Saikou Drammeh: Yes.

Counsel K. Jallow: Did you have a supervisor to whom you reported?

Saikou Drammeh: Yes, the Managing Director.

Counsel K. Jallow: When you were at GNPC in 2008, who was the operations manager?

Saikou Drammeh: The position was vacant.

Counsel K. Jallow: Therefore, who were you reporting to?

Saikou Drammeh: The Managing Director.

Counsel K. Jallow: Who was the Managing Director in 2008 when you worked there as an operations officer?

Saikou Drammeh: The lady who handled all the official matters.

Counsel K. Jallow: As an operations officer, did you make oral reports or written reports?

Saikou Drammeh: Most of them were oral.

Counsel K. Jallow: In the petroleum business, are reports usually required to be written or oral?

Saikou Drammeh: It depends on the type of report.

Counsel K. Jallow: What do you mean by that?

Saikou Drammeh: Whether the report is operational or structural.

Counsel K. Jallow: Please explain what you mean by operational or structural.

Saikou Drammeh: At that time, GNPC was still a new company and did not yet have a proper structure. The government established GNPC around 2002 or 2003. We joined as fresh graduates on 1 August 2008, but there was no established structure yet.

Counsel K. Jallow: Did you continue working at GNPC after 2008?

Saikou Drammeh: No.

Counsel K. Jallow: In which year did you leave GNPC?

Saikou Drammeh: 2015.

Counsel K. Jallow: After leaving GNPC, where did you work?

Saikou Drammeh: Gampetroleum.

Counsel K. Jallow: In what capacity in 2015?

Saikou Drammeh: In operations.

Counsel K. Jallow: Who were you answerable to?

Saikou Drammeh: The Managing Director.

Counsel K. Jallow: Who was the Managing Director?

Saikou Drammeh: Michael Trariane.

Counsel K. Jallow: From 2015 until what year did you work at Gampetroleum?

Saikou Drammeh: 2021.

Counsel K. Jallow: Did you rise through the ranks at Gampetroleum?

Saikou Drammeh: Yes.

Counsel K. Jallow: Apart from the operations officer, what other positions did you hold at Gampetroleum?

Saikou Drammeh: I was on secondment and instructed to understudy the expatriate management. Later we were confirmed as operations officers.

Counsel K. Jallow: What happened after that?

Saikou Drammeh: We continued studying the expatriate management so that we could eventually take over from them.