Gabon tourism minister held over alleged $18 million fraud

Pascal Ogowé Siffon, who was appointed Tourism Minister by Gabon’s military-led government in 2023, was accused of stealing $18 million from the ministry over the course of two years, according to Maghrebi Week on December 8.

Siffon has worked on improving the tourism infrastructure and executed an audit of state-owned hotels since his time in office, as Gabon seeks to promote tourism as a source of revenue.

He was arrested on the run as investigations found that money was embezzled from public appropriations and dividends from state-owned hotels.

Maghrebi Week, Maghrebi