Gabon tourism minister detained for alleged $18m embezzlement
Gabon’s tourism minister, Pascal Ogowé Siffon, is suspected of embezzling $18 million from the tourism ministry over the last two years, according to Africa News via APA on December 3.
The money has allegedly come from public appropriations, dividends from state-owned hotels, and investments tied to oil and gas sector revenues. The investigations are trying to determine how much of the funds were used, and why operations have certain accounting anomalies.
Gabon is an oil-rich country situated in Central Africa, home to pristine rainforests, rare wildlife, and coastal beaches that border the Atlantic Ocean. While oil has been its major source of revenue, the Gabonese government has tried to promote tourism in Gabon, particularly eco-tourism, as an alternative source of income.
The African country was subjected to a coup in 2023, which led to the military government forming its own institutions and appointing new leaders.
Siffon was appointed in 2023, and since then has carried out many projects to revive Gabon’s tourism, including an audit of state-owned hotels and improving the infrastructure to accommodate tourism.
The tourism minister was detained on the national highway, where he was attempting to leave the capital by plane, and has been placed under house arrest since.
Gabon, ruled by the Bongo family for decades, saw many citizens welcome the military coup after years of alleged corruption and nepotism.
Several investigations, including the infamous ‘Pandora Papers’, had implicated the Bongo family and their associates in accumulating a vast overseas property portfolio and other assets. More recently, the ousted President Ali Bongo’s wife and son had faced trials on charges of treason, money laundering, forgery, and embezzlement of public funds, among others.
It remains unclear whether the case will end with the minister’s detention or develop into a wider political crisis in Gabon.
Africa News via APA, Energy News Africa, ICIJ, Maghrebi.org
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