2023-08-15 09:10:56
Romy Andrianarisoa, chief of staff to the Malagasy president, was arrested Thursday in London, according to a press release released Monday by the British Anti-Crime Agency. She is suspected of having demanded bribes for the allocation of operating licenses to the mining group Gemfields.
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Suspected of having asked for bribes for the allocation of operating licenses to the British mining group Gemfields, the Malagasy president’s chief of staff and a Frenchman described as his “associate” have been arrested in the United Kingdom.
Romy Andrianarisoa, 46, and Philippe Tabuteau, 54, were arrested Thursday in London, the British Anti-Crime Agency (NCA) announced on Monday August 14.
The company had raised its concerns with the British authorities and the two suspects were arrested in the Victoria district “during a meeting where they are suspected of having tried to solicit” sums totaling 250,000 Swiss francs (260 000 euros) “and a capital participation of 5%”, continues the NCA.
According to the Financial Times, which revealed the information on Sunday evening, this latest request was for participation in all the Malagasy projects of Gemfields, which has owned Oriental Mining in the country since 2008.
Release from office
Romy Andrianarisoa and Philippe Tabuteau appeared in a British court on Saturday. He ordered their continued detention until a hearing on September 8 at Southwark Crown Court. They each face up to ten years in prison.
“I am grateful to Gemfields for bringing this matter to our attention and for their continued cooperation with the investigation,” Andy Kelly, head of the UK crime agency’s international corruption unit, said in the statement. . Contacted by AFP, Gemfields did not respond.
The Malagasy presidency announced Monday for its part that “in view of the situation”, Romy Andrianarisoa is “relieved of her duties with immediate effect”.
The close friend of the head of state Andry Rajoelina had been officially on leave since last week, the presidency said in a statement, adding that “the Malagasy authorities do not know the reasons for her trip to the United Kingdom”.
The affair broke out less than three months before the first round of the presidential election on November 9 in the big island in the Indian Ocean. Andry Rajoelina, whose dual French and Malagasy nationality has recently been the subject of controversy, has not yet officially announced his candidacy.
“Andry Rajoelina must leave”
“This case is just one example of the extreme corruption that plagues our country to the detriment of all Malagasy people. Andry Rajoelina must leave, for the good of my country!”, reacted Monday Siteny Randrianasoloniaiko, one of the main opponents of Andry Rajoelina.
The country is ranked 142e position out of 180 in Transparency International’s corruption perception ranking. The NGO last month called on presidential candidates to engage in the fight once morest “the sprawling nature of the ramifications of corruption in Madagascar and the intensity of the political and judicial protection that surrounds them, fostering impunity “.
Madagascar had experienced in 2018, a few months before the previous presidential election, a political crisis caused by the adoption of controversial electoral laws, which had notably led to the prosecution of 79 deputies suspected of having received bribes.
The country’s justice system also announced in November the opening of an investigation into the trade in lychees, of which the country is a major producer, following a report by Transparency International on suspicion of corruption and money laundering.
Gemfields, which also owns the jeweler Fabergé, operates a mine of emeralds in Zambia and rubies in Mozambique. In Madagascar, the group holds concessions but has no operations currently in operation.
According to Gemfields’ latest annual report, Oriental Mining holds “a number of concessions for a range of minerals, including emerald and sapphire”, and plans to resume procedures this year to obtain additional permits in the country, following delays related to the Covid-19 pandemic.
With AFP
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