TIMES.KY

Cayman Islands, Caribbeanand International News
Friday, Mar 29, 2024

French Draft Law Is a Warning to Corrupt Leaders

French Draft Law Is a Warning to Corrupt Leaders

France may soon join just a handful of countries, including the United States and Switzerland, with far-reaching legislation aimed to repatriate confiscated stolen assets to their countries of origin.
A luxury townhouse on Avenue Foch — one of Paris’ chicest addresses — is caught up in a yearslong legal battle between France and Equatorial Guinea.

The African nation argues the mansion is part of its diplomatic mission, while French prosecutors claim it is owned by Teodorín Obiang, the wealthy son of Equatorial Guinea’s longtime leader.

So far, France is winning. A Paris court fined the younger Obiang millions of dollars and handed him a suspended prison sentence. The reason: The court said he plundered his nation to finance his luxury lifestyle — a sentence upheld last November by the International Court of Justice in The Hague. French authorities have also seized the 100-room Paris mansion, along with other property including a fleet of luxury cars.

Equatorial Guinea is appealing the case, and France’s highest court is expected to examine it shortly. If France wins again, the millions of dollars in assets would normally end up in its public coffers.

But a new measure making its way through French parliament may change that trajectory. If it becomes law, the millions would instead head back to Equatorial Guinea — targeting its majority poor population.

“This is the money that was stolen from people that work hard in their country, people that really need this money. And we need to make sure that it will go back in those countries and use it properly,” said Deputy Herve Berville of the ruling La Republique en Marche (LREM) party, who is helping to sponsor the measure.

The legislation passed last week in France’s National Assembly, but still faces a Senate vote.

“It’s really important to tell our citizens and the citizens of the world in those countries — in Africa, Asia and Latin America — that France will not allow dictators or sort-of dictators to take money that’s not their money,” he said.

Anti-corruption groups praise the legislation, but they argue some of the language needs strengthening.

“For us, the legislation is not completely adequate to what we were expecting,” said Sandra Cossart, director of French NGO Sherpa. “And especially it’s lacking this principle that for us is mandatory — that is transparency, accountability … and also, very important, the very close participation of civil society in the countries involved.”

If it becomes law, the legislation could affect other high-profile cases underway here. Among them: Rifaat al-Assad, uncle of the Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad. A Paris court sentenced him to prison last year for money laundering and misappropriating public funds to buy luxurious French property. He, too, is appealing his conviction.

Also involved in a so-called ill-gotten-gains investigation in France: the family of conflict-torn Yemen’s late president Ali Abdallah Saleh.
Newsletter

Related Articles

TIMES.KY
0:00
0:00
Close
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
Israel: Unprecedented Civil Disobedience Looms as IDF Reservists Protest Judiciary Reform
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The politician and the journalist lost control and started fighting on live broadcast.
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
Joe Biden admitted, in his own words, that he delivered what he promised in exchange for the $10 million bribe he received from the Ukraine Oil Company.
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
Europe is boiling: Extreme Weather Conditions Prevail Across the Continent
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Italian Court's Controversial Ruling on Sexual Harassment Ignites Uproar
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
40,000 child slaves in Congo are forced to work in cobalt mines so we can drive electric cars.
BBC Personalities Rebuke Accusations Amidst Scandal Involving Teen Exploitation
A Swift Disappointment: Why Is Taylor Swift Bypassing Canada on Her Global Tour?
Historic Moment: Edgars Rinkevics, EU's First Openly Gay Head of State, Takes Office as Latvia's President
Bye bye democracy, human rights, freedom: French Cops Can Now Secretly Activate Phone Cameras, Microphones And GPS To Spy On Citizens
The Poor Man With Money, Mark Zuckerberg, Unveils Twitter Replica with Heavy-Handed Censorship: A New Low in Innovation?
Unilever Plummets in a $2.5 Billion Free Fall, to begin with: A Reckoning for Misuse of Corporate Power Against National Interest
Beyond the Blame Game: The Need for Nuanced Perspectives on America's Complex Reality
Twitter Targets Meta: A Tangle of Trade Secrets and Copycat Culture
The Double-Edged Sword of AI: AI is linked to layoffs in industry that created it
US Sanctions on China's Chip Industry Backfire, Prompting Self-Inflicted Blowback
Meta Copy Twitter with New App, Threads
The New French Revolution
BlackRock Bitcoin ETF Application Refiled, Naming Coinbase as ‘Surveillance-Sharing’ Partner
×