Benin presidency's financial-control delegate is on trial for abuse of office over alleged demands for kickbacks on public contracts
Subject of this story
Also named
What happened
Benin's judicial police arrested the delegate of Financial Control at the Presidency on February 7, 2025, reportedly after he had left his post for about a week and after complaints that he demanded bribes from businesses in exchange for public-contract approvals. He is being tried before the CRIET special court for abuse of office. At the March 31, 2025 hearing, a Republican Guard captain testified that he demanded 20% from suppliers, and phone messages presented in court included a '20% non-negotiable' line; he did not deny the messages but said they were jokes, denied ever meeting the six suppliers concerned, and said the delay in validating six Republican Guard procurement files was due to the Guard sending its needs late. His older brother, tried alongside him, is described by the court as having introduced a supplier who won a 69-million-CFA-franc hospital-equipment contract and as having paid a 10% retrocommission. The case was adjourned to April 14, 2025. All are presumed innocent.
Sources (3)
Response
Contacted and responded — exact wording not on record.
What happened next (0)
No outcome recorded yet.