BEAC /SGBC embezzlement case:

Abah Abah acquitted!
 
By Sylvanus Ezieh Acha’ana in Yaounde

Abah Abah

The former minister of economy and finance, Polycarpe Abah Abah who was standing trial for the embezzlement of 1.1BFCFA has been acquitted by the Special Criminal Court, SCC. Abah Abah was standing trial alongside three others.
Following the verdict which was delivered last Friday evening, one of the accused persons, Barrister Lydienne Eyoum was slammed a 25-year jail term and her property seized for embezzling the sum of 1.7BFCFA. Another accused, Gwen Olivier Honoré who is currently on the run was handed a life imprisonment term, including the seizure of her property while Baleng Célestin, a sheriff bailiff was acquitted. The former minister delegate in charge of the budget, Henri Engoulou, who was also a co-accused unfortunately died earlier this year.
Even though acquitted in last Friday’s verdict, Abah Abah will remain in prison, pending judgment of two other embezzlement cases which are currently being heard by the same court. It should also be recalled that the former finance boss is currently serving a six-year jail term slammed him by the Ekounou magistrate court in 2012 for attempting to escape from jail.
The court case against Abah Abah dates back to 2008 when he was arrested. Since 2008, Abah Abah was never given the opportunity to present his own side of the matter until May 26, 2014. His appearance in court was to justify a decision he took in 2004, authorizing a certain Lydienne Eyoum, an advocate who was fronting for the state to recover 2.155 BFCFA from the Bank of Central African States, BEAC.
Eyoum was advocating on behalf of the state of Cameroon in a matter pitting the latter and the Société Général des Banques au Cameroun, SGBC. At the end of the trial which verdict was passed in favour of the state, Eyoum, of a French national then confronted Abah Abah who was representing the state for her advocating dues.
But Abah Abah would in turn ask Eyoum to hold on until BEAC deposits the claimed amount into state coffers; authorising him to ensure the payment of the money by BEAC. Eyoum then contacted BEAC, soliciting the bank to pay the money in his account. In response, BEAC assured Eyoum that everything was in order and that the money would be deposited into his account.
It was on the bases of the above that the legal department accused Abah Abah of applying fraudulent manoeuvres to assist Eyoum in the embezzlement of the amount claimed. He was also accused of opposing the instructions of the president of the republic who later asked that the said amount be returned to SGBC.
But the former finance minister had on that May 26 refuted all the accusations of the prosecution. He explained that he was appointed finance minister on December 8, 2004 at the moment when the state treasury was undergoing acute financial crisis. On his arrival, he met a court case pitting the ministry of finance and SGBC. SGBC, going by him was contesting the imminent seizure of its account at BEAC worth 2.155BFCFA. The court decided in favour of the ministry of finance by ordering BEAC to deposit the money in state coffers, which according to him was good news for the new ministry of finance and economy which was faced with the duty to pay civil servants at the end of the month.
To ensure a rapid payment of the money, the head of the legal unit at the ministry of finance, quoting sections of the OHADA uniform act addressed a note to the minister, cautioning him to authorize Barrister Eyoum to disburse the money from BEAC.
It was on the recommendation of the service head of the legal affairs unit that the new minister gave the authorization to Eyoum to recover from BEAC the money on the behalf of the state of Cameroon.
Following the unfolding of the events, BEAC later deposited just half of the total sum of the money in state coffers. In effect, on December 23, 2004, the then minister delegate at the ministry of the economy and finance in charge of the budget, Henri Engoulou sent a fax to Eyoum, asking her to retain the other half of the money in his private account until the nature of the settlement of his dues by the ministry of finance is clarified.
Abah Abah had told the court that he was only informed that a fax was sent to Eyoum four years later, during which time Henri Engoulou was already on pre-trial detention at the Yaounde central prison.