Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
10BAMAKO77
2010-02-09 09:27:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Bamako
Cable title:  

MALI'S COURTS TAKE ON CORRUPTION IN SPECIAL SESSION

Tags:  KDEM PGOV PHUM ML 
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FM AMEMBASSY BAMAKO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1120
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAMAKO 000077 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/13/2019
TAGS: KDEM PGOV PHUM ML
SUBJECT: MALI'S COURTS TAKE ON CORRUPTION IN SPECIAL SESSION

Classified By: Political Counselor Peter Newman, Embassy Bamako,
for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAMAKO 000077

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/13/2019
TAGS: KDEM PGOV PHUM ML
SUBJECT: MALI'S COURTS TAKE ON CORRUPTION IN SPECIAL SESSION

Classified By: Political Counselor Peter Newman, Embassy Bamako,
for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (SBU) Summary: From December 30, 2009 to January 29, 2010
the Court of Appeals of Bamako held a special session to try
a series of corruption cases. Twelve cases were presented
involving 52 defendants accused of having stolen a total of
USD 3.7 million of public money. The cases covered a wide
variety of Malian government institutions, including the
Office du Niger, the Ministry of Defense, Gabriel Toure
Hospital in Bamako, and a number of banks in which the
government holds an interest. Ultimately, the court handed
down 35 convictions, 16 acquittals, and the Gabriel Toure
Hospital case was held over for the next session. Although
the prosecutor in charge of the corruption trials told the
Embassy there are limits to what the legal system can
accomplish by itself, this session is undoubtedly positive.
Of particular significance, the session marked the first time
a prosecution has resulted from the reports of the Office of
the Auditor General. End Summary.

CLEARING THE BACKLOG


2. (SBU) As part of its continued effort to ease its case
backlog, the Court of Appeals of Bamako held an additional,
special session from December 30, 2009 to January 29, 2010.
As before, the Court dedicated the session to a specific
subject matter, in this case corruption and theft of public
funds. The 12 cases presented to the Court demonstrated that
few Malian government institutions can be considered immune
from corruption. Although there were a number of cases
concerning corruption in the banking system, there were also
cases touching the Gabriel Toure Hospital, the Malian social
security institution (INPS),the Treasury, the Ministry of
Defense, and the Office du Niger.


3. (SBU) On January 11, PolOff attended part of the trial of
six men accused of embezzling money during their employment
at the Office du Niger. The prosecution accused the men of
collecting from villagers the fees paid to the Office for
irrigated water, but failing to turn over the totality of
that money to the state. Of particular significance, this
represented, to the best of the Embassy's knowledge, the
first time that a prosecution has resulted from the work and

reports of the Office of the Auditor General (OAG). In
court, the auditor assigned by the OAG testified to the
office's methodology, and in a compelling narrative explained
how the OAG reached the conclusion that the six suspects had
altered Office du Niger records to hide their embezzlement.
Ultimately, two of the defendants were acquitted, two were
sentenced to time served, and two received sentences of five
years imprisonment.

WITH ALL MEANS AVAILABLE

4.(SBU) In a highly publicized case, Prosecutor Souleymane
Coulibaly accused nine military officers and two civilians of
embezzling close to USD 650,000 from the Ministry of Defense.
The fraud involved falsifying records and food vouchers to
exaggerate what the Office of Subsistence at the Ministry was
paying to the company Grand Cereals Distributor of Mali
(GDCM) for food for the troops. The defendants were accused
of pocketing the difference once the Treasury reimbursed the
Ministry. This fraud was discovered by the Ministry of
Defense in an internal investigation, and was referred to the
Minister of Justice for prosecution. Sentences imposed
ranged from time served to 20 years imprisonment for the
three leading culprits.

5.(C) In a meeting with the Embassy on January 25, Prosecutor
Coulibaly conceded that there are limits to what the courts
can do in the fight against corruption. Noting that
corruption is "killing" Malian society, Coulibaly said that
multiple systems of control were needed to combat the
scourge, of which the legal system was only one tool. By
itself, Coulibaly continued, the legal system is
insufficient, because not all cases of corruption come to the
attention of the courts, and those that do can take years to
be prosecuted. Moreover, many Malian judges have limited
expertise in financial crimes. Some, Coulibaly lamented, are
not even aware they have the authority to seize assets to
cover fines or reimbursements ordered by the court. What is
needed, according to Coulibaly, is the political will to hold
people accountable, by instituting a zero tolerance policy in
government institutions and immediately firing anyone guilty
of even the smallest act of corruption. Coulibaly was
hopeful, however, saying, "I know that at the top of the
State, the President is committed to fighting corruption with
all means available."

6.(C) Others are less certain. The newspaper, Le Republicain
(a generally opposition-leaning daily),printed a scathing

BAMAKO 00000077 002 OF 002


critique of the trials, noting that none of the defendants on
trials were "big fish." This is because, the Republican
claimed, the government has prioritized reimbursement of
stolen funds over punishment of corrupt officials.
Therefore, those who are able to reimburse even a portion of
what they have stolen are effectively immune from prosecution.

COMMENT


7. (C) While corruption will continue to plague Mali for
years to come, and the Prosecutor is right to say that
combatting it requires a multi-pronged, zero-tolerarance
approach with high level support, these prosecutions are a
sign that the democratic process is working, and continuing
to evolve slowly for the better, in Mali. End Comment.

MILOVANOVIC