Gabon: the former boss of the oil company sentenced to 12 years in prison
View of the Libreville Court of Justice in 2001 (Illustration image).
DESIREY MINKOH / AFP
Text by: RFI Follow
2 mins
Tried in Gabon since Monday July 18 for embezzlement, complicity in embezzlement and money laundering, Christian Patrichi Tanasa - former general manager of Gabon Oil Company, the national hydrocarbon company - and his two collaborators have just been sentenced to prison sentences and heavy fines.
The Court almost followed the requisitions, condemning the leader to 12 years in prison, and his deputy to 10 years.
The third defendant is however acquitted.
Advertising
Read more
With our correspondent in Libreville
,
Yves-Laurent Goma
The verdict is in: the Court almost followed the submissions of the public prosecutor.
Christian Patrichi Tanasa, former Managing Director of Gabon Oil Company receives a 12-year prison sentence.
He was found guilty of embezzlement and money laundering, crimes for which he had been in preventive detention for two years and seven months.
His deputy Jérémie Ayong, who appeared free, sentenced him to 10 years in prison.
A warrant of committal was immediately issued against him: he will spend the night in prison.
The director general and his deputy are jointly and severally ordered to pay 20 billion CFA francs [about 30 million euros] to the Gabonese state.
Only Carelle Ndemengane, treasurer, is doing well: she was acquitted and her bank accounts released.
The defendants' lawyers
pleaded for the acquittal
of their clients.
"
Do not judge the mistakes of the Gabonese administration through these young thirtysomethings
," asked Me Charles Henri Gey, defense lawyer.
They then expressed their disappointment and promised to appeal in cassation.
"
It's a good decision
", for his part commented Me Aymard Moutsinga, lawyer for the State.
Requisitions followed
A few hours earlier, in its requisitions, the public prosecutor had requested 15 years in prison with a fine of 100 million CFA francs [approximately 152,100 euros] against Christian Patrichi Tanasa, former general manager of Gabon Oil Company.
The public prosecutor has certainly recognized the skills of a good manager, for having increased the company's accounts from 6 billion to 44 billion CFA francs [from 9 million to 67 million euros approximately] in one year.
But he accuses him of having ordered expenses, granted benefits and offered donations without the approval of the board of directors.
For his deputy Jérémie Ayong, who appeared free, the public prosecutor had requested 10 years in prison.
Finally, for Carelle Ndemengane, the treasurer who also appeared free, the prosecution had requested 3 years in prison.
►
To read also:
Congo: end of preparatory consultations for the inter-Libyan reconciliation conference
Newsletter
Receive all the international news directly in your mailbox
I subscribe
Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application
google-play-badge_EN
Gabon
Justice
Corruption
Oil