CAMEROON: 212F HELPS GRC DETAIN CORRUPT OFFICIAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L YAOUNDE 000449 SIPDIS STATE ALSO FOR INL/C AND AF/C E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/08/2018 TAGS: KCOR CVIS PREL ECON CM SUBJECT: CAMEROON: 212F HELPS GRC DETAIN CORRUPT OFFICIAL REF: YAOUNDE 427 (NOTAL) Classified By: Political Officer Tad Brown for reasons 1.4 b and d. ¶1. (U) Paragraph 6 of this message contains an Action Request for INL/C. ¶2. (U) Cameroonian police detained Zachaeus Mungwe Forjindam on May 7, the same day he was replaced as General Manager of the parastatal Cameroon Shipyard. Forjindam's arrest has been greeted by Cameroonian press reports as evidence that President Biya's anti-corruption campaign (nicknamed "Operation Epervier" or Operation Sparrowhawk) is continuing to net senior officials and members of Biya's ruling party, the Cameroon People's Democratic Movement (CPDM). ¶3. (C) On April 30, Embassy Yaounde transmitted reftel VISAS DONKEY Security Advisory Opinion to Washington asking that Forjindam and his wife be found ineligible under section 212f of the Immigration and Nationality Act. Reftel included information obtained from, inter alia, Cameroon's Ministry of Justice indicating that Government of Cameroon (GRC) audits showed Forjindam embezzled about $2.3 million while he headed the Cameroon Shipyard. ¶4. (C) A GRC magistrate familiar with the dossier told Poloff May 8 that Forjindam had been detained and would, within days, appear in court to answer charges related to that dossier. Minister of Justice and Vice Prime Minister Amamdou Ali told Poloff on May 7 he believed Forjindam had stolen much more than $2.3 million and that the GRC had evidence that Forjindam maintained some of his stolen fortune in accounts in the United Kingdom. According to Ali, the GRC had given Forjindam a chance to avoid arrest by returning the funds uncovered by the audit. ¶5. (C) Comment: We have not told the GRC about Forjindam's visa application and refusal. The GRC continues to express frustration with past cases in which suspects have fled Cameroon to avoid prosecution. It is entirely plausible that Forjindam and his wife would have sought refuge from justice in the US (where two of their children reside) if we had not refused their visas. Amid increasing calls for "western nations" to address their own role in perpetuating corrupt regimes, the 212f ineligibility is a valuable tool to advance the USG's anti-corruption efforts, among our primary objectives in Cameroon and easily the most welcome form of cooperation from the perspective of both the GRC and the Cameroonian street. End Comment. ¶6. (C) Action request: Post requests that Department expedite its consideration of the Visas Donkey SAO. The decision to detain Forjindam makes clearer than ever that a finding of ineligibility would strengthen, not strain, our relationship with the GRC. In Post's view, Forjindam's detention should not preclude a determination of ineligibility under 212f. Forjindam has a pending application, has only been "detained" and could plausibly be released for any number of reasons. Furthermore, as Post indicated reftel, Forjindam's ineligibility will be necessary in order to pursue findings of ineligibility against his wife (application also pending),and his children (both of whom possess current non-immigrant visas). End action request. GARVEY