SHOW ME THE MONEY! CAMEROON FOCUSES ON ASSET

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 YAOUNDE 001034

SIPDIS

LAGOS FOR LEGATT
PRETORIA FOR DHS
TREASURY FOR FINCEN
DOJ FOR OIA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/16/2018
TAGS: KCOR EFIN ECON PREL CM
SUBJECT: SHOW ME THE MONEY! CAMEROON FOCUSES ON ASSET
RECOVERY

REF: YAOUNDE 913

Classified By: Political officer Tad Brown for reasons 1.4 b and d.


1. (C) Summary. In the midst of an ongoing anti-corruption
drive--the most aggressive in Cameroon's history
--Cameroonians, from government officials and journalists to
the proverbial man on the street, are increasingly fixated on
the prospects of asset recovery. With dozens of senior
officials on trial or in prison, the appetite for further
arrests is waning amid a growing sentiment that arrests are
meaningless unless the looted funds are recovered. Officials
from the U.S. Departments of Justice and Treasury met with
their counterparts in Yaounde during the week of October 6 to
explain the American legal system, specifically the
modalities of asset recovery. The visit revealed the
Cameroonians' strong desire for such cooperation, but also
laid bare the lack of basic capacity and infrastructure to
effectively track stolen funds. Post will continue to liaise
with USG counterparts to identify opportunities to advance
U.S. interests in anti-corruption and in combating financial
crimes. End summary.


2. (C) Motivated by the imperative for debt relief and the
realization of how corrupt his government had become,
President Paul Biya launched an anti-corruption drive (dubbed
"Operation Epervier" or "Operation Sparrowhawk") in early
2006, with the arrest of three senior officials. Other
arrests have followed, making Operation Epervier the most
ambitious anti-corruption drive in Cameroon's history, albeit
one subject to allegations of political undertones and
insufficient due process. As the population's clamor for
high-level arrests has been sated, the focus of public
opinion has shifted to asset recovery, with many observers
opining that further arrests will be meaningless unless they
involve asset recovery.


3. (C) Hoping to identify assets stashed abroad (and,
perhaps, to obtain damning information on members of his
government),Biya solicited services of French national
Francis Dooh Collins, a self-styled financial investigator
who received millions in payments from the GRC treasury while
alienating potential allies and casting doubt on the GRC's
seriousness (ref a). Post is aware that Dooh Collins
succeeded in obtaining some actionable information from
authorities in Luxembourg and perhaps some other European
countries, but his most significant legacy may be in
convincing the GRC authorities that they are better off
dealing directly with other governments rather than through
shadowy intermediaries. Seeking assistance from USG
counterparts, Vice Prime Minister and Minister for Justice
Amadou Ali and other judicial officials (including
prosecutors and judges) have written requesting information
on US-based assets of officials suspected or convicted of
embezzlement and other financial crimes. Post has
transmitted these letters rogatory to USDOJ, but an initial
review revealed that the requests did not contain the
investigative elements necessary for a USG response.


4. (C) In this context, Post invited Patricia Petty from
USDOJ's Office of International Affairs, and NiiBen Ayivorh
from the Department of Treasury's Financial Crimes
Enforcement Network (FINCEN),to visit Yaounde the week of
October 6 for meetings with their counterparts in Cameroon's
Ministry of Justice and Financial Intelligence Unit, known as
ANIF. Their meetings, which included a day-long seminar at
the Embassy for 40 prosecutors and judicial officials,
succeeded in answering GRC officials' questions about the
American legal system, especially regarding the threshold of
information required for U.S. authorities to act on a request
for legal assistance. GRC officials appreciated the outreach
(noting that no other government had offered the same level
of cooperation),but expressed concern that their capacity
would fall short of what was needed to pursue asset
forfeiture.


5. (C) Specifically, Cameroonian justice officials were
skeptical that their investigators (mainly from the Judicial
Police branch of the National Police) will be capable to meet
the USG's request for a detailed, step-by-step chain of
evidence linking the crime in Cameroon to the assets in the

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US. To illustrate the particular challenges of the
Cameroonian context, one prosecutor explained that his case
(involving embezzlement at the Cameroon Shipyards) is
complicated by the primary suspect's practice of removing
large sums (as much as $800,000) from government accounts in
cash, whereby the evidence trail disappears. USG officials
urged their Cameroonian colleagues to be imaginative and look
to see where such looted funds might have "re-surfaced" (and
noted parenthetically that the ease with which funds were
embezzled proves the need for more robust legislation and
regulation to prevent corruption and aid investigators).


6. (C) The Cameroonians further noted their frustration
with what they perceived to be the lack of cooperation from
other countries, particularly the French. One prosecutor
relayed his experience trying to freeze assets in a French
bank (for which he had a trail of bank transfers),only to
find that the bank allowed the suspect to transfer the funds
out through other accounts before freezing them.


7. (C) Comment: Operation Epervier represents an
unprecedented opportunity, albeit an imperfect one, to
advance USG interests in combating corruption and other
financial crimes. Political will is uneven, at best, and
there are some easy wins the GRC has yet to advance, like
implementing asset declaration for senior officials. At the
same time, however, GRC law enforcement is more open than
ever to involving USG officials in the details of their
investigations. Minister Ali and his team spent more than
three hours with the FINCEN and DOJ visitors, going over
procedures and specific cases, and afterward told Pol/Econ
Chief that he thought the session was "excellent." The
Embassy seminar served to bring Cameroonian officials
together (it was evident that some of them had never met,
much less collaborated),and they stayed after hours to
review specific cases with the trainers.


8. (C) The DOJ/FINCEN visit revealed gaps in the GRC's
basic capacities, especially in tracking financial
information. ANIF lacks basic computer systems and keeps its
financial records in paper files. Despite these lacuna,
which would frustrate even the most robust anti-corruption
efforts, many Cameroonian officials evinced a desire to
improve their efficacy in fighting corruption and other
financial crimes. Post will reach out to appropriate offices
at State, Justice (including Legatt Abuja),DHS and Treasury
to discuss further opportunities for training and
collaboration, including steps that might be taken within the
U.S. (with correspondent banks, for example) to aid GRC
authorities in their efforts.
GARVEY