Alieu Danso, the owner of Almot Real Estate Company, has revealed to the Local Government Commission of Inquiry that he earned a profit of eight million dalasis from selling land to the KMC Staff Welfare Association. During his testimony, Alieu disclosed that he had obtained the land from the original owners for two million dalasis and subsequently divided it into plots.
Alieu stated that he consented to sell 167 plots to the KMC Staff Welfare Association for a total of ten million and twenty-three thousand dalasis (D10,023,000). The anticipated profit from this transaction was eight million and twenty-three thousand dalasis (D8,023,000). He acknowledged that the KMC Staff Welfare Association provided him with more than eight million dalasis, yet he only compensated the landowners D350,000 prior to the termination of the agreement with them.
The Commission noted that when D350,000 was paid, Alieu had already obtained more than one million dalasis (D1,000,000) from the welfare association. Upon further inquiry, Alieu acknowledged that the Touray family, the landowners, aimed to reclaim their funds after he did not fulfil his financial responsibilities.
Lead Counsel Patrick Gomez charged Alieu with dishonesty, providing evidence that the Touray family ended the contract because of non-payment. The family submitted a letter outlining the payments Alieu received from the KMC Staff Welfare Association, which contradicted his previous assertions that the welfare association had not compensated him.
“The Commission possesses evidence regarding the termination by the Touray Family,” Gomez stated.
The witness indicated that he was the individual who notified the family that he could no longer continue with the agreement due to their sale of the land to another company.
He also stated that the Touray family brought him to the Fraud Squad to assist in the repayment of his money and to guarantee that he kept his distance from the land. Nonetheless, the Lead Counsel highlighted that the Touray family brought him to the police Fraud Squad in light of fraud allegations.
“You received funds from the welfare association, yet you never properly accounted for all that money given to the Touray Family,” he stated.
The witness subsequently acknowledged that the family was attempting to reclaim their funds due to his failure to make the payment.
