Benin: 3 years of prison requested against a former accountant of the DEC prosecuted for embezzlement

Rédaction Africa Links 24 with Edouard Djogbénou
Published on 2024-04-15 09:27:34

The Special Court for the Repression of Economic and Terrorism Offences (CRIET) has requested, on Thursday, April 11, 2024, a three (3) year prison sentence against a former accountant of the Secondary School Examinations and Competitions Department. The accused is being prosecuted for violating procedural rules in the exercise of his duties.

In his indictment, the special prosecutor presented the facts against the former accountant during his tenure between 2016 and 2019. The financial officer is accused of using 130 million FCFA from the Department of Examinations and Competitions without traceability.

According to Banouto, these irregularities were revealed, according to the prosecution, by a financial inspection in 2019. Implicated in this case, the accountant is accused of “embezzlement of public funds and abuse of office.”

The former accountant is no longer being prosecuted for embezzlement of public funds. The prosecutor has cleared him of this accusation. According to the magistrate, there is no concrete evidence to continue prosecuting the accused on these charges. The former accountant of the Department of Examinations and Competitions, as the prosecutor learned, did not embezzle the funds for personal use.

The accused justified the presentation of evidence to prove the expenses incurred on behalf of the organization for which he worked as head of the financial and administrative department at the DEC. Therefore, the prosecutor rejected the accusations against the financial officer.

However, the magistrate upheld the charge of abuse of office. According to him, the former accountant failed in his duties towards the treasury in the procedure submitted to him. The accused was supposed to transfer to the public treasury all funds from the issuance of certificates and diplomas before receiving 50% for the DEC.

But according to the accusation, the financial officer did not send the money, instead he spent it entirely at the DEC. The public ministry indicated that all the supporting documents presented do not account for the total amount reproached to the former accountant.

The special deputy prosecutor requested the Court to keep the former accountant in preventive detention and sentenced him to a three (3) year prison term. The magistrate also suggests to the judges to impose on the accused a fine of two (2) million FCFA.

If the court follows the prosecution’s requests, the former accountant, who has been in prison since 2020, will regain his freedom. The court’s decision is awaited.

Read the original article(French) on Benin Web TV