© thezipper
In the DRC, accusations of alleged financial embezzlement are increasing within the RVA, this public establishment which manages air transport.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Abdallah Bilenge, former director general of the Airway Authority (RVA), sentenced last year to twenty years of forced labor for embezzlement of several million dollars, was acquitted this weekend by the Court of Cassation, the Congolese High Court.
At first instance, Abdallah Bilenge had been found guilty of embezzling more than $15 million in tax and socio-professional contributions from the RVA for his workers, but the appeal judges noted that the funds had not been disbursed or allocated to private purposes. The conviction had been denounced by some civil society NGOs, warning against this legal fiasco.
Jean-Pierre Kayembe, spokesperson for Abdallah Bilenge, is delighted with this acquittal. ” In any case, it is no surprise that we learned of Mr. Abdallah Bidenge’s acquittal. He was arrested, sentenced, in a speedy trial… We appealed. The appeal judges at the Court of Cassation find that there are gray areas in the verdict of the first judge. The Court of Cassation diligent an audit, recruits a firm of accountants who will spend a month at the RVA, who had access to all the bank documents, all the accounts of the company! And the report filed with the Court of Cassation is final. The famous 15 million never existed! It is not money that has gone from one account to another. The RVA, like all the other companies in the State portfolio, have these problems of tax and socio-professional debts. The judges of the Court of Cassation have overcome any political divide. They said the right. And this is an opportunity to thank them. As Mr. Bilenge was arrested, condemned… He spent more than fifteen months of unjust detention! He lost his job! The political consequence would be that, as he was cleared, he recovers his post at the RVA! ».
Abdallah Bilenge, Director General of the Airway Authority (RVA), had been arrested on November 10, 2020.