Corruption: Probe into French Assets of 3 African Presidents

By Jaya Ramachandran

Courtesy IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis

PARIS (IDN) - Transparency International France and Association Sherpa, a Paris-based non-profit organization, have welcomed the ruling by the criminal chamber of France's Supreme Court in an alleged corruption case calling for an investigation into how luxury assets were acquired in the country by three foreign heads of state and their relatives.

The ruling on November 9, 2010 referred to Denis Sassou Nguesso who has been President of Congo-Brazzaville since 1997; Omar Bongo Ondimba, President of Gabon for 42 years until his death in office in 2009; and Téodoro Obiang Mbasogo, President of Equatorial Guinea since 1979.

The Supreme Court overruled the decision handed down one year ago by the Paris Court of Appeal by ruling that the complaint filed by Transparency International France (TI France) on December 2, 2008 is admissible.

The Supreme Court's decision will allow the appointment of an investigating judge and the opening of a judicial inquiry. This judge will have to determine the conditions under which the assets in question -- properties and cars, as well as bank accounts -- were acquired, as well as how the numerous bank accounts identified by the police were accumulated.

TI France and Sherpa said in a media release on November 9 that the inquiry should also shed light on the role played by various intermediaries who might have facilitated operations identified as suspect by the French police. "First among those are the banking institutions which were identified by the investigations, and whose respect for their anti-laundering obligations one can only question."

"Without prejudice to the result of the judicial investigation, Sherpa and Transparency International France expect the inquiry to allow the truth to come out, and in time, to lead to an effective exercise of the right to restitution -- a right explicitly guaranteed by the UN Convention against Corruption which France ratified in 2005," the media release said.

In all cases, this decision is seen to stand as a considerable legal milestone that goes beyond the 'Biens Mal Acquis' Case. For the first time in France, the collective action of an anti-corruption association is deemed admissible before a criminal court.

The two organizations expect the Supreme Court decision, which is in line with the evolution of positive laws regarding collective action of associations, to "permit to overcome the inertia of public prosecution in sensitive cases of political or financial nature in the future".

The 'Biens Mal Acquis' Case goes back to 2007 when CCFD-Terre Solidaire, a leading French NGO, issued a report titled "Stolen Assets – Dictators' Wealth and Western Connivance", which estimated the amount of stolen assets located in Western countries.

The report was recently updated and expanded in June 2009 under the title "Mal Acquis: A Qui Profite le Crime?" (http://www.ccfd.asso.fr/BMA)

According to the media release, in March 2007, Sherpa, along with two other French NGOs -- Survie and the Federation des Congolais de la Congolais de la Diaspora -- filed a legal complaint before the French Public Prosecutor against the ruling families of Angola, Burkina Faso, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, and Gabon alleging that some of them owned millions of Euros worth of properties in France that could not be the fruits of their official salaries.

Late 2007, preliminary investigation confirmed most of the allegations and further uncovered various additional assets, properties and goods including luxury cars and bank accounts. According to the media release, the investigation revealed some unknown facts.

-- The deceased President Omar Bongo and his relatives owned real-estate assets including 39 properties, 17 of which are registered in the name of late Omar Bongo. Most of those properties are located in Paris' upscale 16th district;

--•Seventy identified bank accounts, 11of which are registered in the name of Omar Bongo.
-- An automobile fleet comprising of at least nine vehicles for a total estimated value of 1.493.443 Euros.

The investigation further revealed that President Denis Sassou Nguesso of Congo-Brazzaville and his relatives owned:

-- Real-estate assets including 18 properties;
-- One hundred and twelve bank accounts;
-- An automobile fleet comprising of at least one vehicle estimated at 172.321 Euros.

According to the investigation, President Téodoro Obiang of Equatorial Guinea and his relatives owned:

-- Real-estate assets including at least one property registered in the name of Téodoro Obiang;

-- One identified Barclays bank account registered in the name of Téodoro Nguema Obiang;

-- An automobile fleet of at least eight vehicles owned by Téodoro Nguema Obiang, total estimated value at 4.213.618 Euros.

Furthermore, says the statement by TI France and Sherpa, the investigation revealed the atypical nature of some of those funding practices: the late Edith Bongo, then wife of the late Gabonese President, is said to have bought a Daimler Chrysler car with a check account opened in the Banque de France by the Gabonese Public Treasury.

Despite these overwhelming findings, the case was dismissed on November 7, 2007, the Public Prosecutor having considered the infraction to be "insufficiently characterized".

On July 9, 2008, TI France, together with Congolese and Gabonese citizens lodged another complaint before the French Public Prosecutor. This complaint was strictly identical to the one filed by Sherpa sixteen months earlier.

The sole objective was to enable TI France as well as Gabonese and Congolese citizens to later lodge a complaint with civil party petition before the investigating judge (Article 85 of French Criminal code of procedure). "Therefore, it is unsurprising that the Public Prosecutor decided on September 3, 2008 not to pursue the case," says the media release.

On December 2, 2008, TI France and Gregory Ngbwa Mintsa, a Gabonese citizen, filled a complaint with civil party petition in the hope of triggering a judiciary inquiry. The same day, Omar Bongo's lawyers announced their intention to sue Sherpa and TI for libel.

On April 20, 2009, the Public Prosecutor Office in Paris officially opposed the opening of a judiciary inquiry.

On May 5, 2009, the Judge dismissed the Gabonese citizen's civil party petition, arguing he had no standing in this case. However, the judge also admitted TI France as a civil party, thereby setting in motion the opening of a judiciary inquiry. The Public Prosecution, however, quickly appealed the decision.

On October 29, 2009, the Paris Court of Appeal decided the inadmissibility of TI France as a civil party. At this point, TI France appealed to the Supreme Court.