five new children of Omar Bongo indicted in France

Five new children of former Gabonese President Omar Bongo were indicted in France in June and July as part of the Gabonese “ill-gotten gains” case, the national financial prosecutor’s office told franceinfo on Friday July 29. , confirming information fromAfricaIntelligence. Four of these five new indictments target Pascaline Bongo, former director of her father’s cabinet, Omar Denis Junior Bongo – who is also the grandson of Congolese President Sassou-Nguesso – Jeanne Matoua and Joseph Matoua. They are prosecuted for concealment of embezzlement of public funds, active and passive corruption, money laundering and misuse of corporate assets.

This brings to nine the number of children of Omar Bongo prosecuted in this judicial investigation. Between March and April, Grace, Betty, Arthur and Hermine Bongo were indicted in the same case.

They are suspected by the courts of having benefited from the financial assets assembled by Omar Bongo, President of Gabon from 1967 until his death in 2009. An acquired heritage “fraudulently” according to a judgment of the Paris Court of Appeal dating from February. This “huge fortune” comes according to this judgment “money from embezzlement of public funds and considerable sums from the crime of corruption of oil companies”in particular Elf Aquitaine, now TotalEnergies.

This case was triggered after the complaint of an NGO in 2007. In addition to these nine children of Omar Bongo, 14 other individuals are being prosecuted, including members of the family of Denis Sassou Nguesso, President of the Republic of Congo as well as BNP Paribas.

This heritage which would have been acquired fraudulently is valued at at least 85 million euros by justice. The first four children indicted all denied having knowledge of the fraudulent nature of this heritage.