Sierra Leone’s First Lady, Fatima Bio and family have been accused of corruption and purchasing of at least 10 properties in The Gambia worth over $2.1 million, according to an investigation by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP).

The report indicates that most of the properties are in upscale neighborhoods and tourist hotspots, including a large hotel under development by one of her half-brothers.

OCCRP said that property records show that some of the deals were facilitated by a certain Alphonso Lakhmee King, a businessman who signed official documents for three properties and paid stamp duty on a villa registered to Bio’s mother. The investigators said King is close to the First Family and even attended public events with them and was one of Sierra Leone’s top government contractors in 2019. Despite his visible connections, OCCRP said King denied any involvement in the property deals and abruptly ended a phone call during their inquiry.

Tax and employment records reviewed by OCCRP raise questions about how Fatima Bio and her relatives were able to afford the properties. Public information offers no evidence that she, her mother, or her half-brothers have the financial means to make such significant purchases. Meanwhile, OCCRP said the President, Julius Maada Bio, who is constitutionally barred from earning private income, did not respond to questions about the origin of the funds.

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The investigators also claimed that Fatima Bio’s half-brother Abdoul Mois Darboe claimed his projects, including a hotel and two luxury apartments, were “self-funded” through his construction company. But they found out that no relevant income or tax payments were found in his records.

OCCRP also said other properties are linked to the First Lady’s mother, Tidankay Darboe, and half-brother Yusupha Darboe and that villas listed under their names appear far beyond their reported means. “Tidankay Darboe has no recorded income or tax payments beyond the stamp duty, which was covered by King,” the Investigators said. They added that Yusupha Darboe, who previously worked at a U.S. hotel and later registered a real estate business in The Gambia, has paid only $2 in income tax since starting the company in 2016.

The properties include beachfront villas and a four-storey apartment building reportedly purchased by Fatima Bio in 2024 for around $148,000. OCCRP said units in that building are now being rented out at nightly rates between 110 and 130 euros. They said another villa, acquired by Bio for just $44,000 in early 2024, cost less than the land’s value when last sold over a decade earlier.

The report by the Watchdog has casted serious doubt over President Bio’s pledges to tackle corruption in Sierra Leone. The OCCRP said this doubt is also carried by other watchdogs like Transparency International report that the President’s administration continues to face serious accountability issues. The lack of transparency surrounding these property deals adds to growing concerns over financial misconduct at the highest levels of the Sierra Leonean government.