The French National Financial Prosecutor’s Office (PNF) has requested that 23 individuals and legal entities be sent to criminal court as part of the investigation into Gabonese “ill-gotten gains,” which has been ongoing in France since 2010. Among those implicated are several children of former Gabonese President Omar Bongo, the First Lady of Congo-Brazzaville, Antoinette Sassou Nguesso, and former Miss France, Sonia Rolland. According to a judicial source cited by AFP, the PNF is also seeking the trial of five companies, including BNP Paribas and four real estate firms. A total of 52 properties considered to have been acquired fraudulently have been seized during these proceedings.
The investigation was launched following a complaint filed by the organization Transparency International. French magistrates suspect that funds derived from public embezzlement, corruption, and other offenses were used to finance the acquisition of real estate in France by the entourage of the former Gabonese head of state. According to investigation details cited by AFP, the judiciary believes that Omar Bongo provided tens of millions of euros in cash to the Gabonese decoration company Atelier 74 to finance these real estate acquisitions. The funds reportedly transited through the company’s French bank account.
BNP Paribas, under investigation since May 2021, faces a request for trial on charges of aggravated money laundering, specifically related to corruption and embezzlement of public funds. The prosecutor accuses the bank of allowing the Bongo family and their associates to convert at least 35 million euros of illicit funds into real estate investments via Atelier 74 between 1996 and 2008. When questioned by AFP, the bank contested the accusations, stating, “We contest any criminal liability of BNP Paribas in this case. We will defend this file, noting that the facts date back to before 2008.”
The descendants of Omar Bongo involved include Pascaline Bongo, her father’s former chief of staff, as well as Ali, Jeff, Hermine, Arthur, Omar Denis Junior, Yacine Queenie, Betty, and Grâce Bongo. Pascaline Bongo is notably prosecuted for alleged receiving of embezzled public funds, money laundering, active and passive corruption, and misuse of corporate assets. The lawyer for Grâce Bongo Odimba denounced the case to AFP as “eminently political” and indicated that her client would challenge the proceedings in court.
The PNF also requested the trial of Antoinette Sassou Nguesso, wife of Congolese President Denis Sassou Nguesso, regarding an apartment located in the 17th arrondissement of Paris. According to a source close to the case, she is also the subject of an arrest warrant issued in January 2026. Former Miss France 2000 Sonia Rolland is also included in the request. According to investigation details, she received a Parisian apartment in 2003 from Edith Bongo, wife of Omar Bongo, which she presented to the investigating judge as a “gift,” claiming she did not question the origin of the funds used for its acquisition.
In France, a mechanism adopted in 2021 provides that assets confiscated in “ill-gotten gains” cases may be returned to benefit the populations of the countries concerned.
Captured & Published at: 2026-07-28 14:53:38 (Madagascar Local Time EAT)
Original Source: https://2424.mg/justice-le-parquet-financier-francais-demande-un-proces-contre-bnp-paribas-et-des-proches-de-lancien-president-gabonais-omar-bongo-dans-laffaire-des-biens-mal-acquis/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=justice-le-parquet-financier-francais-demande-un-proces-contre-bnp-paribas-et-des-proches-de-lancien-president-gabonais-omar-bongo-dans-laffaire-des-biens-mal-acquis