issA tchiroma bakary reveals colossal public fund embezzlement in Cameroon
Issa Tchiroma Bakary has unveiled a damning declaration, complete with extensive figures, exposing widespread corruption within Cameroon’s governance. His report details the plundering of gold, oil, and timber resources, the diversion of public contracts through fraudulent budget lines 65 and 94, systemic tax and customs fraud, and the illicit enrichment of President Paul Biya’s inner circle. Below is an excerpt from this significant statement.
“Dear compatriots, ladies and gentlemen, I was profoundly disturbed by the estimated 2,000 billion francs in diverted gold. This revelation compelled me to instruct my teams in Cameroon and globally to thoroughly investigate the state of public finances, leaving me, and I trust you, in a state of anger, grief, astonishment, and even revolt. Indeed, dear compatriots, it is an undeniable truth that over 43 years, Cameroon has regressed from relative prosperity to a state of absolute poverty and widespread destitution for its people.”
LA SUITE APRÈS LA PUBLICITÉ
“Allow me to present the facts. The initial aspect of this extensive predation involves subsoil resources, specifically oil. For four decades, the SNH (Société Nationale des Hydrocarbures) generated oil revenues that remained outside the national budget, parliamentary oversight, and any semblance of transparency. The International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) have previously highlighted considerable financial outflows from Cameroon that never appeared in official accounts. The sale of oil to Glencore at less than 30% of its market value, coupled with vanished oil cargoes and unrecorded SNH revenues, collectively amount to several thousand billions of FCFA. Cameroon’s forests have suffered a similar fate, with an estimated 80% of timber being sold illegally. The very land of Cameroon has been openly plundered, often with the complicity of state actors. Ladies and gentlemen, between the exploitation of gold, oil, and timber, over 10,000 billion FCFA has simply disappeared.”
“The second critical area concerns the direct embezzlement of public funds through fraudulent contracts. Budgetary lines 65 and 94, spanning the years 2012 to 2021, have been inexplicably erased. These two lines alone account for 5,400 billion FCFA in expenditures lacking any proper justification. The Special Criminal Court (TCS), established by President Biya himself, has tried and convicted his own civil servants for nearly 9,000 billion FCFA in embezzlement between 1997 and 2021. Furthermore, what can be said of the ‘ghost’ agents? According to the Ministry of Finance and the Public Treasury, over 20,000 phantom civil servants were listed on payrolls for years. For decades, the annual financial damage from this particular scheme has approached 200 billion FCFA. Everyone will recall major scandals such as the Yaoundé-Douala highway project, the preparations for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (CAN), and the COVID-19 vaccine procurements, where documented massive overbilling exceeded 500 billion FCFA.”
“The third dimension of this financial malfeasance involves pervasive tax and customs fraud. Both the National Agency for Financial Investigation (ANIF) and the National Anti-Corruption Commission (CONAC) have confirmed the existence of systemic fraud mechanisms. Their official figures are alarming: 1,665 billion FCFA in suspicious financial flows detected in 2023 alone; 1,246 billion FCFA in documented customs fraud over a six-year period; and 1,745 billion FCFA attributed to scanning fraud at the Port of Douala, implicating SGS. In light of these figures, ladies and gentlemen, one can better understand the distressing spectacle witnessed at the Port of Douala since 2026 (sic), where two factions within the regime openly contended for control over the very same institutionalized fraud.”
“Finally, the fourth and ultimate aspect pertains to the personal enrichment of the ruling clan. It is well-established that the Biya clan has systematically diverted public wealth on an industrial scale to acquire personal assets in Cameroon, France, and the Middle East. Investigations in the Netherlands (Pendras Pays Bas) identified 744 million Euros in ill-gotten assets in France. This sum is complemented by the Nyom estate belonging to the Secretary-General of the Presidency (SGPR), valued at 18 billion FCFA, and properties in Dubai estimated at 44 billion FCFA. Lavish stays at the Hôtel Continental in Geneva, costing 50,000 dollars per night for the entire delegation, further illustrate this extravagance. Without exception, Mr. Biya, his wife, his son, the SGPR, the Director of the Civil Cabinet (DCC), the Deputy Director of the Civil Cabinet (DCCA), the Minister of Territorial Administration (MINAT), and numerous others have amassed considerable personal fortunes without ever fulfilling the constitutional obligation of asset declaration, as mandated by Article 66 of the Constitution.”
“My dear compatriots, the total sum of this predation is truly revolting. A conservative estimate places the amount at 26,000 billion FCFA. This figure represents a lower bound, as this regime has perfected the art of concealment through proxies and tax havens. Through reasoned extrapolation, our experts estimate that the actual figure could reach an staggering 80,000 billion FCFA. To illustrate the sheer scale of this plunder: with just 26,000 billion FCFA, Cameroon could have funded 36 years of salaries for all 380,000 teachers, healthcare workers, and soldiers combined, or constructed 2,600 district hospitals, equating to 260 hospitals per region.”
“My dear compatriots, there will be no amnesty or secret negotiations where impunity is traded for a silent transition. Ladies and gentlemen, every senior official found guilty of malfeasance will be held accountable for their actions before competent national and international jurisdictions.”
