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Central African Republic:
A Mafia centre
CORRUPTION
The Mafia is an underworld group out to line its own pockets through illegal
means.
Such has been the situation in the Central African Republic since
1993
Before becoming President, Ange-Felix Patassé had borrowed US $23,062,400 from William Sofin in the name of the Central African Republic (CAR). This took place on 23 November 1984. Patassé promised to repay the loan which carried a 2% interest each year. A year following his election as President in 1993, that’s to say, nearly ten years after the loan had been made, Mr Sofin’s lawyers pressed the President to honour his financial commitment
A similar situation has developed in the Didier Seguin case. This particular gentleman worked as an accountant with the South-West Building Society. Inquiries by Interpol, the Bordeaux Criminal Investigation Department and the Central Fraud Squad, brought to light that Ange-Felix Patassé had acquired 1.7 million French Francs in a Swiss Bank Account under various account names.
However, President Patassé hasn’t stopped there. At his request, Mr. Michel Bangué-Tandé, formerly Paymaster-General, and Mr Elie Chouaib, younger brother of the owner of a medical clinic, were asked to call-in Italian forgers. This took place between 1995 and 1996. When these individuals arrived in Bangui, the authorities decided to move these people to Avakaba Park, in the north, where, protected against all intrusion, they would have the opportunity of printing money so as to pay-off arrears in salaries, pensions and scholarships, and in so doing, win friends for the President. However, on their way to the Park, their plane crashed leaving no survivors. Since then, a complete mystery surrounding the disappearance of the Italians and Mr Elie Chouaib.
The «Zongo Oil Affair»
Events developed during the early part of this year with the «Zongo Oil Affair» and the «Central African Airlines Affair». What’s it all about?
PETROCA (The Central African Oil Company) holds a monopoly for the import and export of hydrocarbons. This firm is in the process of being privatised. However, many of CAR‘s citizens have been surprised to learn that another company, Zongo Oil, has been established by Sany Yalo, authorised by Mr. Dogonendji Bhé, PETROCA‘s director general and a Movement for the Liberation of the Central African People Member of Parliament; also by Paul Zaca, former Inspector-General of Customs and Excise; and by Beti Marace, the former Cabinet Secretary. Zongo Oil has as terms of reference, to market oil, diesel, and petrol in the CAR and in Congo RDC. This «deal» was drawn up in June 1999, when Zongo on the other side of the River Oubangui was captured by rebels belonging to Jean-Pierre Bemba‘s Movement for the Liberation of Congo (hence the new company’s name). It was only in October, however, that some CAR politicians became aware of what was going on.
Zongo Oil uses PETROCA‘s technical back-up and service stations to market its products. CAR‘s military and customs authorities are led to believe that it is a PETROCA subsidiary. Because of this, the loss of revenue to the State is estimated at between 4-6 billion CFA francs.
But when it came to investigating what was happening, only PETROCA‘s managerial staff were investigated, and all they’d done was to carry out their director-general’s and Mr Sany Yalo’s orders. The big fish have yet to be caught.
The «Central African Airlines» Affair
The Central African Airlines (CAL) «Affair» concerns a private air transport company run by Ukrainians, with its head office in Dubai. CAL got permission to fly a Tupolev 154 and two Antonovs 32. President Ange-Felix Patassé was somewhat bemused to learn from Gabon’s President El Hadj Omar Bongo, that the delegation from The Gambia had arrived for the Summit on Poverty, to be held in Libreville, Gabon, in a plane painted in CAR‘s colours. Back in Bangui, Mr Patassé called for explanations from his adviser, Mr Michel Bangué-Tandé. Mr Bangué-Tandé informed the President that this particular plane had been got ready for his journey, but since he’d declined the offer, CAL had flown the plane back to Dubai, and used it again, without, however, removing the CAR colours. President Patassé called for an immediate judicial inquiry as he suspected there was more to this than meets the eye.
On 21 February 2000, a preliminary hearing took place at Bangui’s Criminal Court. The former Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation, Mr André Gombako, said that CAL‘s file had first of all passed through the hands of the presidency, which in turn had handed it on to the Ministry of Transport so that the company could be issued with a commercial licence. The Minister in question issued a licence for three planes out of ten (for which permission to fly had been requested). He also asked CAL‘s representatives to produce the bills for all the planes, in order to calculate the tax which amounted to 10% of the planes’ value. Right up to the Minister’s dismissal from office, these taxes were thought never to have been paid.
President Patassé’s advisor, Mr Michel Bangué-Tandé, said he had negotiated this business directly with CAL‘s head office in Dubai, cutting out CAR‘s Transport and Civil Aviation Ministry. In short, from the President’s adviser right up to Inspector-General of Civil Aviation, Mr Maxime Zounimbiat; also including the new Minister of Civil Aviation, Mr Timothée Anguéné and the director-general of civil aviation, Mr Fulbert Armand Doungovo, all knew what was going on!
Sources «close to the presidency» have made it known that Minister Timothée Aguené, a protégé of President Patassé, has «pocketed» some 4.5 million CFA francs — some of the taxes paid by CAL. Also, the government still owes CAL some 130 million CFA francs for expenses incurred by the President’s various trips abroad. The same sources say that a cheque for 130 million CFA francs had in fact been prepared to pay this bill, but it has gone in «another direction».
A strange transfer
Recently, some CAR senior officials from the Bank of Central African States (BEAC) authorised a «quiet» transfer of 325 billion CFA francs, from outside the country, to the CAR. It should be noted that the BEAC‘s director in CAR is a personal friend of President Patassé. The fact that some bank employees were unable to keep their mouths shut and seeing the amount transferred, BEAC‘s head office in Yaounde, Cameroon, blocked the transfer and demanded to know what was going on. The BEAC sent a delegation to Bangui to have a closer look at the «affair».
Mr Jonas Tologasa, BEAC‘s director in CAR tried to explain the transfer by saying «it was all to do with politics». However, when Mr.Théodore Dabanga, CAR‘s Minister of Finances and the Budget, was challenged in Parliament about the «affair», he said it was a serious problem undermining the country’s credibility. It appears the intention was to transit the 325 billion CFA francs through the BEAC‘s main office in CAR, then onwards through another bank so as to be «laundered». CAR‘s government would then have received a 75 billion CFA francs commission.
Already, in December 1999, during a parliamentary debate on the Prime Minister’s programme for the months ahead, the Minister of the Economy and Planning said he was well aware of Members’ concerns about the non-payment of salaries, pensions and bursaries. He said the government intended to pay all these arrears during the first part of this year, 2000. Not every citizens was convinced by the minister’s statement, because they knew only too well that the present state of national income means that only 40 billion CFA francs can be guaranteed in these first three months of the year. The discovery of the 325 billion CFA francs «operation» is clear proof that the government is relying on «laundered money» to honour its commitments.
Under President Patassé’s administration, the CAR has indeed become a mafia centre. Trade in Coffee, timber, diamonds provide excellent channels for money laundering. President Ange-Felix Patassé has set up a number of businesses, in clear violation of the l4 January 1995 Constitution. He also has shares in many firms set up by Russians, Canadians, Italians, Lebanese, Yemenites and others. The government’s somewhat shady contacts with certain people and organisations, has done nothing to enhance and create conditions for encouraging international financial institutions to assist the CAR in its development projects.
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