RCA: French beverage giant Castel accused of complicity in war crimes

A view of downtown Bangui, capital of the Central African Republic.

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Text by: RFI Follow

1 min

The noose is tightening around the French beverage giant Castel.

A preliminary investigation was opened on Wednesday June 29 in Paris against the group accused since last year of complicity in war crimes and crimes against humanity in the CAR.

Accusations stemming from a report by the NGO The Sentry which accuses Castel of having made agreements with a Central African rebel group in order to protect its infrastructure in exchange for logistical aid.

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Despite denials by the Castel group,

The Sentry's report has not been buried

, far from it.

This time, the prosecution has opened an investigation and will be able to officially look into the sulphurous case involving the French giant.

The lawyers of the NGO which revealed the scandal were "

delighted

" with this progress, believing that these investigations "

should make it possible to shed light on the possible responsibilities of companies and individuals, in particular French, in the commission of crimes extremely serious

".

On the business side, we stay sober.

Castel simply says “

take note

” while ensuring “

full and complete cooperation with justice

”.

“Attempt to destabilize”

The Sentry report, released in August 2021, revealed that the SUCAF RCA sugar refinery, belonging to the Castel group, had wanted to protect its monopoly in the Central African Republic, by negotiating with the armed group UPC, yet accused of multiple abuses.

An “

arrangement

” in which the rebels secured his factory and his sugar cane field, in exchange for which SUCAF RCA financed the militia through direct or in-kind payments.

After the revelations, an internal ethics committee was seized.

Today, Me Pierre-Olivier Sur, one of the group's lawyers, declares that his conclusions “

completely invalidated the allegations of the report

”.

The latter denounces "

anonymous witnesses hiding in the NGO investigation

", an "

attempt to destabilize

" and promises a "

trial in slanderous denunciation

".

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