30 October 2009 / AP, PARIS
A French court has decided not to pursue an investigation into three African heads of state for money laundering linked to their assets in France.
A French judge had been seeking to investigate Gabon’s late leader Omar Bongo, the Republic of Congo’s President Denis Sassou-Nguesso and President Teodoro Obiang of Equatorial Guinea, following a complaint by Transparency International France, a group that tracks corruption. But an appeals court ruled on Thursday that the probe could not go forward because there was not enough evidence of wrongdoing. A preliminary investigation had turned up numerous signs of wealth among the three leaders and their families, including luxury cars -- Aston Martins, Bugattis and Mercedes -- sometimes paid for in cash. William Bourdon, a lawyer for Transparency International France, says those assets belong to the leaders’ countrymen. The group said it would appeal the decision to France’s highest court. “This is a big blow, but it’s just one step in a legal battle that will be long,” said Maud Perdriel-Vaissiere of Sherpa, a human rights group that had also filed a complaint against the leaders.
