Paris Judicial Court: Pascaline Bongo fixed on her fate this Monday, April 22

The Paris judicial court is expected to announce its decision on Monday in the case involving Pascaline Bongo, the eldest daughter of the late Gabonese President Omar Bongo and sister of former President Ali Bongo. This is a case involving the award of public contracts in Gabon involving Pascaline Bongo in court for passive corruption.

The Paris judicial court is due to render its decision this Monday, April 22, 2024 in the case concerning Pascaline Bongo, the eldest daughter of the late Gabonese President Omar Bongo and sister of deposed President Ali Bongo. She was tried for passive bribery of a foreign public official in the early 2010s in Gabon.

Pascaline Bongo, aged 67, is suspected by the National Financial Prosecutor's Office (PNF) of having agreed to intervene in favor of the French engineering company Egis Route in the award of public contracts, against the promise of eight million of euros in retrocommissions.

However, she rejects this accusation, saying that the matter was personal to her brother, deposed president Ali Bongo, and that she would have had no power to influence such a decision.

Despite the lack of actual collection of the eight million euros, the prosecution considers that this does not detract from the initial nature of corruption. During the trial which took place in January and February, the prosecution requested a three-year prison sentence, including one year, and a fine of 150,000 euros for Pascaline Bongo.

As for the other defendants, suspended sentences of two to three years were required, as well as fines of up to 750,000 euros for the company involved.

The lawyers for all the defendants argued in favor of the release of their clients, contesting the accusations against them.