There is something to grind for Cameroonian justice in the “ scandale Glencore », the Anglo-Swiss raw materials trader, arrested in 2022 by the American justice system, for acts of corruption in the context of his activities in Africa. According to our colleagues by EcoMatin, the affair is recording notable developments in Cameroon, while it seemed static after its outbreak a year ago. The Special Criminal Court (TCS), competent to track down offenders cited in cases of corruption and embezzlement of public funds, should be seized in the coming days by the Managing Director of the National Hydrocarbons Company (Snh), Adolphe Moudiki, of a complaint against the Cameroonian personalities involved in this scandal. Emile Fidieck’s newspaper reports that this approach results from an agreement from the President of the Republic Paul Biya to the manager of the Snh to bring this case which tarnishes the image of Cameroon before this jurisdiction.
« I ask the President of the Republic to authorize me to file a complaint with the Special Criminal Court so that a judicial investigation can be opened so that those involved in this case can be heard. », writes the ADG of the Snh in his correspondence to the Head of State, and quoted by EcoMatin, which also adds that the President of the Republic responded in the affirmative alongside his request: “ Oui » ! For the moment, the identity of the senior Cameroonian officials mentioned in this affair are not yet known. American justice nevertheless indicated that these were people in service at Snh, and the National Refining Company (Sonara) between 2007 and 2018, involved in secret transactions with the multinational trading, brokerage and extraction of raw materials in Cameroon during the aforementioned period, against the payment of bribes estimated at approximately 7 billion CFA francs.
The lines appear to be moving in this matter, after the Board of Directors of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), asked the governments of the African countries cited in this scandal, “ to intervene quickly to take appropriate measures “, in order to identify the Cameroonian agents, especially since in the meantime, the President of the EITI Board of Directors recalled that “accusations relating to bribes carried out through intermediaries with the aim of obtaining contracts with state enterprises ” were ” incompatible » with the commitments made « in terms of transparency and accountability ».
