"Ill-gotten gains" from Omar Bongo: BNP Paribas rejects the accusations of French justice

The bank BNP Paribas rejects the accusations of the French justice within the framework of the affair of the “ill-gotten gains” of Omar Bongo.

Reuters / Charles Platiau

Text by: RFI Follow

2 min

BNP Paribas disputes its responsibility in the case of “ill-gotten gains” of Omar Bongo, the former Gabonese president.

Last May, the Paris court indicted the French bank for " 

laundering of corruption and laundering of embezzlement of public funds

 ", charges the bank rejects.

Publicity

Read more

According to an interrogation of the judge to which AFP had access, BNP Paribas recognized " 

deficiencies

 " in its monitoring of the financial circuit of the family of Omar Bongo, but disputes " 

any fraudulent design

 ".

The business revolves around an interior decoration company, called "Atelier 74".

French justice suspects

this company of having received, on its accounts at BNP, money from its Africa subsidiary, via an account at BGFI, a Gabonese bank.

This Gabonese account received a large number of cash deposits made by Omar Bongo himself and his relatives.

This money would have enabled him to acquire 12 real estate properties including a villa in Nice and mansions in chic districts of Paris, to the tune of at least 35 million euros, funds from the corruption of the former president. Gabonese.

Justice accuses the French bank of having laundered them.

For the judge, the BNP should have “ 

classified

 ” as “ 

sensitive

 ” the “

 known business link

 ” between “Atelier 74” and Omar Bongo and noted that the amounts in cash were disproportionate to the president's income.

But according to Georges Diarni, the legal director of BNP Paribas, " 

nothing establishes

 " that the BNP " 

would have been informed that the Bongo family was pulling the strings behind" Atelier 74 "

 ".

Newsletter

Receive all international news directly in your mailbox

I subscribe

Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application

google-play-badge_FR

  • Gabon

  • France

  • Justice

  • Corruption