"Pandora Papers": the Congolese government denies the involvement of President Sassou-NGuesso
Congolese President Denis Sassou-Nguesso.
EVGENIA NOVOZHENINA / POOL / AFP
Text by: RFI Follow
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The government of Congo-Brazzaville denies any involvement of Congolese President Denis Sassou-NGuesso in the “Pandora Papers” affair, these documents on the use of
offshore
companies
in tax havens.
Denis Sassou N'Guesso had already quoted in previous surveys of the ICIJ consortium, at the origin of the revelations of the “Pandora Papers”.
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According to the international consortium of journalists, it was in 1998, just after the return to power of Denis Sassou N'Guesso, that the company Inter African Investment was registered in the British Virgin Islands, a tax haven in the Caribbean.
This company would head Ecoplan Finance Ltd, itself owner of Escom Congo, a construction and real estate company with rights to Congolese diamond mines.
The beneficiary of the structure would be the president himself, and one of his daughters, Julienne, would have been one of the directors of Ecoplan Finance Ltd, a now inactive company.
Strong government denial
The Congolese authorities categorically refute these accusations.
The Minister of Communication, Thierry Moungalla, contacted RFI to respond: “
The government of the Republic of Congo denies with the most extreme firmness any involvement of the President of the Republic.
And taking into account the gravity of the accusations which are brought here, the President of the Republic reserves the right to initiate any legal action or any prosecution for defamation for all the media or all the people who would repeat these accusations without providing any evidence. whether it be.
"
In contrast, the civil society organization Sassoufit welcomes this investigation, because, according to it, it is the first time that the name of Denis Sassou N'Guesso appears directly linked to a company of this type.
►Also read: Congo-Brazzaville: the son of Sassou-Nguesso cited in the Panama Papers
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Congo Brazzaville
Denis Sassou-Nguesso