Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08YAOUNDE35
2008-01-14 15:51:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Yaounde
Cable title:  

CAMEROON: NEW TWISTS IN ANTI-CORRUPTION COOPERATION

Tags:  KCOR PREL PGOV CM 
pdf how-to read a cable
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RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
C O N F I D E N T I A L YAOUNDE 000035 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE ALSO FOR AF/C AND INL/C
JUSTICE FOR DAVID WARNER AND PATRICIA PETTY
DHS FOR CHER IANNACCONE
TREASURY FOR HEATHER MOYE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/10/2018
TAGS: KCOR PREL PGOV CM
SUBJECT: CAMEROON: NEW TWISTS IN ANTI-CORRUPTION COOPERATION

REF: 07 YAOUNDE 1236

Classified By: Pol/Econ Chief Scott Ticknor for reasons
1.4 d and e.

C O N F I D E N T I A L YAOUNDE 000035

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE ALSO FOR AF/C AND INL/C
JUSTICE FOR DAVID WARNER AND PATRICIA PETTY
DHS FOR CHER IANNACCONE
TREASURY FOR HEATHER MOYE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/10/2018
TAGS: KCOR PREL PGOV CM
SUBJECT: CAMEROON: NEW TWISTS IN ANTI-CORRUPTION COOPERATION

REF: 07 YAOUNDE 1236

Classified By: Pol/Econ Chief Scott Ticknor for reasons
1.4 d and e.


1. (C) Summary: Minister of Justice Amadou Ali's
anti-corruption effort, with USG support, made headline news
in Cameroon on January 9. Ambassador Garvey and the
Ambassadors of Italy and the Netherlands met with Ali that
evening. The Minister reaffirmed his and President Biya's
commitment to moving forward with anti-corruption efforts,
including cooperation to identify the possible overseas
accounts of proceeds from corruption involving senior
officials. He has created a new anti-moneylaundering "cell"
but is frustrated with the USDOJ's "legalistic" approach to
cooperation. The Ambassadors will seek an early meeting with
Biya to discuss his anti-corruption efforts. End summary.


Background
--------------


2. (C) Several months ago, Minister of Justice Amadou Ali
approached post and the Embassies of Canada, the UK, Italy
and the Netherlands to assist in investigating overseas funds
of senior corrupt officials, with the primary goal of
repatriating the ill-gotten money (reftel). The Minister
sent the U.S. Department of Justice a Mutual Legal Assistance
request and on December 17 post sent the Minister a response
from USDOJ that highlighted the need for more information and
clarity about the legal authorities implicated in the
request. USDOJ also asked the Minister to identify an
official counterpart and to clarify the judicial basis for
the request.

The Press Gets the Story
--------------


3. (SBU) On January 9, Cameroonian media was dominated by
the story of a document from Minister of Justice Amadou Ali
naming 64 senior officials and prominent personalities as
part of a corruption investigation. It indicated that the
Ministry was working with the U.S., British and Canadian
governments to identify the proceeds of corruption which may
be stashed in foreign banks. On January 8, Minister Ali sent
a letter notifying Ambassador that he had formed a cell

within the Ministry to work with the Action Group against
Moneylaundering in Central Africa (GABAC) on issues of
moneylaundering and financial crime. The cell is composed
of: 1) Minister Ali, 2) Francis Dooh Collins (in charge of
international financial investigations),3) Josette Essomba
Ripault, Inspector General of Judicial Services (in charge of
relations with GABAC),assisted by Inspector Salatou Baba,
and 4) Izatou Yerima Lamine (Secretary).

Meeting Ali
--------------


4. (C) Ambassador, Dutch Ambassador Norbert Braakhuis, and
Italian Ambassador Antonio Bellavia met with Minister Ali on
January 9 to clarify his role and the GRC's position. The
Minister seemed unfazed by the media's coverage of this
story, saying none of the documents we had given the GRC in
this case were compromised and that neither he nor we should
be overly concerned. He did not plan to react to the press
stories unless the President asked him to and opined that the
story would die away in a week or so. He was not even sure
the President was aware of the media coverage since he was
traveling in his village. In any case, most Cameroonians
were happy with this story, Ali ventured. Ali had a
complicated explanation for how the story leaked to the
press: a French national who had been a part of Dooh Collins'
team before the Israeli Government asked that he be excluded
(NFI) shared the information with the head of French
intelligence, who in turn passed it to the Secretary General
at the Presidency, Laurent Esso, whom Ali perceives to be
beholden to French interests in Cameroon and aligned against
Ali's anti-corruption efforts. He conceded there was an
ongoing, complex internal political battle, with detractors
trying to neutralize his anti-corruption efforts and him
politically, and possibly physically as well. Not everyone
named in the list is necessarily guilty, he added.


5. (C) Ali reiterated his and the President's continued
commitment to combating corruption, identifying and
recovering looted funds located outside the country, and
punishing corrupt officials. Ali said he would reinforce
this message in a public event later in the week, citing the
President's October France 24 interview, New Year's message
to the nation and New Year's speech to diplomats as proof of
Biya's commitment to an anti-corruption agenda. Ali said the
President had personally approved each of the names leaked to
the press and even added some of the names personally.
Furthermore, Biya had asked Cameroon's National Agency for
Financial Investigations (Cameroon's Financial Intelligence
Unit, known by its French acronym, ANIF) and the Delegate
General for National Security (the national police) to
investigate a list of 27 officials for involvement in corrupt
practices. He said judicial processes were underway for ten
other individuals, and that his new anti-moneylaundering cell
would move forward with investigating overseas funds from
these cases. Once the President has approved the ANIF list
of 27, the GRC could take action against their overseas funds
as well, he said.

Frustrations with USDOJ
--------------


6. (SBU) Ali was clearly frustrated with the recent USDOJ
letter, saying that if he knew where the ill-gotten funds
were he would not need USG help. He pressed for a "less
legalistic" approach, saying that in these days of tracking
down terrorist finances, surely the USG had other methods to
track illicit money. He estimated that the overseas corrupt
proceeds totaled $5-10 billion, twice the GRC's annual
budget.

Next Steps
--------------


7. (C) The Ambassadors proposed a meeting with President
Biya soon to discuss the anti-corruption effort. Ali
supported the idea, noting that past diplomatic intervention
had greatly influenced the President's decisions in combating
corruption. Post will reach out to the Minister's new
anti-moneylaundering cell to see if we can help them craft a
request that will be acceptable to USDOJ. We do not
recommend any Washington action on this issue at this time.

Comment
--------------


8. (C) Ali's reassurances of continued support on
anti-corruption efforts are welcome. We hope the new lists
of 10 and 27 (and he mentioned the Prime Minister has yet
another list) will bear fruit. However, the new cell has few
new names and retains a prominent role for Dooh Collins,
whose credentials and motives are questionable. We were
surprised at Ali's dismissiveness about the press stories,
especially since the published list could seriously
exacerbate internal political tensions within the Cabinet.
Ali's frustration with the legalities of the USDOJ approach
also gives us pause. We hope to use a meeting with Biya to
reinforce the importance of the legal processes and the need
to avoid politicizing this important effort.
GARVEY