by ANGELIQUE CHRISAFIS
French President Nicolas Sarkozy with President Omar Bongo of Gabon. PHOTO/Pascal Rossignol/Reuters
Gabon’s late president Omar Bongo allegedly pocketed millions in embezzled funds from central African states, channelling some of it to French political parties in support of Nicolas Sarkozy, according to a US embassy cable published by El País.
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The cable, released by WikiLeaks, continued: “Asked what the officials did with the stolen funds, the Beac official responded, ‘sometimes they kept it for themselves, sometimes they funnelled it to French political parties.’ Asked who received the funds, the official responded, ‘both sides, but mostly the right; especially Chirac and including Sarkozy.’ The Beac official said ‘Bongo was France’s favourite president in Africa,’ and ‘this is classic Françafrique.'”
The secret cable also detailed how the Gabonese Beac governor had secretly placed €500m in high-risk investment with French bank Société Générale.
It concluded that the US embassy was “unable to assess the veracity of the allegation that French politicians benefitted from Beac’s loss”.
Bongo, who came to power in 1967 with French help, was the world’s longest-ruling head of state, apart from the British and Thai monarchies. He was succeeded last year by his son Ali, who was said by the cable to also have “benefited from the embezzlement”.
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