© REUTERS/Francois Lenoir
Mbola Rajaonah, an economic operator close to the former President of the Republic Hery Rajaonarimampianina (our illustration photo) was sentenced to 5 years in prison for tax evasion and money laundering by the anti-corruption unit.
Three years following his arrest, Mbola Rajaonah, an economic operator close to the former President of the Republic Hery Rajaonarimampianina was sentenced to 5 years in prison on Thursday, May 26, for tax evasion and money laundering by the anti-corruption unit. He was sentenced to pay a fine of 27 billion ariarys along with two other defendants who were sentenced to one year in prison.
With our correspondent in Antananarivo, Laura Verneau
Three years of pretrial detention before sentencing, for Master Eric Rafidison, Mbola Rajaonah’s lawyer, his client was detained on remand for far too long. ” We invented files to keep my client in prison until the end of the current mandate, under the pretext that he was embarrassing and that he would have financed the campaign of Marc Ravalomanana “says the lawyer. According to him, the sentence is disproportionate and he prefers to remain discreet regarding the rest of the procedure.
« Education took time »
Solohery Razafindrakoto, the prosecutor of the anti-corruption unit, explains that the accused was convicted of tax evasion and money laundering, for facts dating from 2018 and 2014. He must also pay a fine of 27 billion ariarys , just like two other defendants, but who received a one-year suspended prison sentence.
« The investigation took time, because 35 witnesses were heard », justifies the prosecutor. Arrested with a bang in February 2019, the arrest of Mbola Rajaonah, this economic operator close to the former president, caused a stir in public opinion. Since then, his relatives have not stopped shouting at the political trial.
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