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From: wolda002@umn.edu
Date: Tue Nov 23 2010 - 00:41:39 EST
Fight against African kleptocrats to go global after milestone ruling in
France
Money-laundering inquiry given access to African leaders' assets
By Daniel Howden, Africa Correspondent
*Thursday, 11 November 2010*
Anti-corruption campaigners have called on Western governments to follow
France's lead in allowing an investigation into the assets of three African
leaders accused of looting their countries to fund lavish purchases in the
rich world.
Huguette Labelle, the head of global anti-corruption watchdog Transparency
International, said the high court decision in Paris to allow a judicial
inquiry into the French assets of the leaders of Equatorial Guinea, the
Republic of Congo, and the former leader of Gabon, was a "milestone" and a
"deterrent" against future theft.
She called on the G20 club of rich nations meeting today in South Korea to
act on its commitment to combat money laundering and back the "French model"
which allows European courts to go after assets bought with the proceeds of
corruption.
"This is going to be a very important case for the anti-corruption movement
worldwide," said Ms Labelle, speaking from Thailand. "People in these
countries know their money is being stolen and this can help to create a new
sense that something can be done about it."
A 2007 investigation into the French holdings of President Denis
Sassou-Nguesso of Congo, President Teodoro Obiang Nguema of Equatorial
Guinea and Omar Bongo, Gabon's then-president, uncovered assets worth tens
of millions of pounds.
These "ill-gotten gains", as they came to be known, included hundreds of
bank accounts; a fleet of Ferraris and Bugattis worth more than €3m and, in
the case of Mr Bongo, who died last year, nearly 40 properties in Paris'
exclusive 16th district. In each case the value of the assets bore no
relation to the declared income of the individuals.
Tuesday's victory, which saw France's highest court clear the way for a full
judicial investigation into the origin of the leaders' assets, came after
three years of legal battles. The accused have all denied any wrongdoing.
The appeal court ruling raises the prospect of serving African heads of
state being tried for corruption in the French courts. It also sets a
precedent allowing an alliance of non-governmental organisations to bring a
criminal action in a "public interest" case. "So much money has been taken
out [of Africa]," said Ms Labelle. "When there's enough evidence we need to
have these public interest cases taken to court."
The French inquiry is expected to shed light on the role of European banks
in laundering stolen money.
Britain's Michael Sullivan, QC, was among a group of lawyers to give his
backing to this week's ruling and call for courts in the West to be used to
trace the proceeds of corruption in Africa
"The main reason for doing this isn't because it's easier to get a result in
a Western court," he said. "It's because the fraud is often centred around
money laundered through Western banks."
Mr Sullivan led an investigation into money allegedly stolen by former
president of Zambia, Frederick Chiluba, which uncovered $56m worth of
assets. The southern African nation took its former leader to court in the
UK in 2007 after investigators uncovered an extraordinary decade of
spending.
The legal aciton, led by Mr Sullivan described accounts in the UK,
Switzerland and the Caribbean, that had been used to cover the president's
lavish spending under the pretence of financing overseas intelligence
operations.
After the court in London found against him, Mr Chiluba was acquitted in a
criminal action in Zambia last year. Despite that setback Mr Sullivan said
that African courts would be unable to follow the financial trail even if
there was the political will to do so and only Western courts could compel
the disclosure of bank records.
The intervention of Western courts in the affairs of African leaders has
been attacked as "neo-colonialism" by the supporters of some regimes.
However, there was widespread support for the French decision. "Our
governments are the perpetrators of corruption and their successors tend to
forgive them," said Mwalimu Mati, of the political watchdog, Mars Group
Kenya.
"The argument that this is neo-colonialism only favours the continued
looting of Africa," he said. "Africans should get their money
back<http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/fight-against-african-kleptocrats-to-go-global-after-milestone-ruling-in-france-2130794.html#>
."