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GABON

Private jets, offshore fields, football, magazines: the presidential palace's untraceable holdings

A string of offshore companies with no identified owner have been linked to transactions within the presidential couple's entourage. All were incorporated by the same financiers who also happen to be associates of Gabon's sovereign wealth fund. [...] (1351 words)

Issue dated 24/05/2021 Reading time 6 minutes

Gabonese President Ali Bongo getting off his plane during a visit to Beijing, 2018. © Jin Liwang/Xinhua News Agency/Newscom/MaxPPP

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Finance Politics

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GABON
Africa Communication Events GmbH
African Cup of Nations
Afrijet
Alexandre Guérini
Ali Bongo
Amir ben Yahmed
Anderson Luis de Souza
Béchir ben Yahmed
Boeing
Caisse interprofessionnelle de prévoyance et d'assurance vieillesse
Charles Duchaine
David Salama
FC Barcelona
FGIS
Forafric
Forafric Energy Gabon
François Perrodo
Helin International
Henri de Croÿ
Jean-Baptiste Tomi
Jean-Noël Guérini
Jet Magic
Jeune Afrique
Marwane ben Yahmed
Michel Tomi
Millcorp
MillCorp Media Group
Panther Sports Enterprises
Perenco
PetroPlus Overseas
Reach Media
Richard Attias
Sylvia Bongo
Verhill Corporate
Vincent Miclet
Vitoria Guimaraes
Yariv Elbaz
YC Energy
YC Invest
YC Ventures
YCAP

Time for Tomi to pay French taxes, rules Council of State

After years of court battles over tax on commissions, the French Council of State ruled Michel Tomi had to pay some taxes in France. [...]

AFRICA Business 09/02/2022

Africa Intelligence in court: JetMagic founder Antoine Hayem's defamation case flops Free

The French pilot sued Africa Intelligence after we published an investigation into his activities and African clients, including the presidency of Gabon. The court of appeal has upheld a lower court's dismissal of the claims. [...]

Yariv Elbaz, president of Forafric, during a meeting with the Autonomous Port of Abidjan on 25 August 2020. © Story & Brands via PAA

Focus

MOROCCO Commodity traders Business 31/01/2022

Elbaz opens up Forafric's capital to Trumpists and Kazakh oligarch Machkevitch via Nasdaq listing

Financier Yariv Elbaz, who specialises in complex financial operations, particularly for the Gabonese sovereign fund, is putting the final touches to a stock exchange operation that will turn his Forafric milling group into a leading force in the cereals "diplomacy" stakes with powerful financial and political allies. [...]

GABON Diplomacy 30/09/2021

Noureddin Bongo lands his diplomatic passport just before leaving office

One week before stepping down as the general coordinator of presidential affairs, Noureddin Bongo, the son of President Ali Bongo, obtained a diplomatic passport by decree on 6 September. [...]

GABON Business 30/06/2021

Going, going, gone: yet another presidential plane changes hands

A Bombardier Global Jet frequently chartered by the presidency has been bought by Turkish interests. It's the third such aircraft sale in recent months. [...]

CONGO Business 23/06/2021

Fadil Yuzal, the Franco-Turkish businessman favoured by Sassou Nguesso

Yuzal has become the main air service provider for the Congolese presidency, while at the same time bringing a lot of business into the country. [...]

GABON Energy 17/06/2021

President's office rings the changes at Gabon Oil Co and oil ministry

The entourage of President Ali Bongo has installed allies at the head of Gabon Oil Co and the directorate of hydrocarbons, two key posts in Gabon's oil sector. [...]

GABON Business 15/06/2021

Spring clearance sale under way on presidency's aircraft

Several aircraft regularly used by the Gabonese presidency have been sold or are in the process of being sold. [...]

TANZANIA Business 09/06/2021

Football boss saves face with Bakhresa broadcast deal

Wallace Karia's broadcasting deal with the Bakhresa Group will redistribute rights to local clubs and should thus ease the clubs' criticism of the football federation. [...]

GABON Energy 08/06/2021

Who is really in control of the country's oil?

Gabon's oil and gas sector - the state's main source of foreign cash - is now in the hands of a close acquaintance of President Ali Bongo's son and coordinator, Noureddin Bongo. [...]

Breaking newsGABON 04/06/2021

Ahead of joining Commonwealth, Gabon sends envoy to Paris

Breaking news, published on 04/06/21 at 12 p.m. - Gabon's foreign affairs minister met his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian this morning, as part of president Ali Bongo's recent diplomatic drive which includes applying for Commonwealth membership but also forging closer ties with Russia. [...]

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian. © Sadak Souici/Le Pictorium/MaxPPP

The president of FIFA, Gianni Infantino, and the president of the African Football Confederation, Patrice Motsepe, on 4 May 2021 in Abidjan. © Legnan Koula/EPA/Newscom/MaxPPP

Spotlight

AFRICA Business 03/06/2021

FIFA boss Gianni Infantino tightens his grip on African federations

After months of bad blood between FIFA and some African federation members, the head of the international football organisation wants to take advantage of South African billionaire Patrice Motsepe's arrival at the head of the Confederation of African Football to exert greater control of the game on the continent. [...]

GABON Business 02/06/2021

Gabon tussles with IMF over loan programme

Gabon, which is due to start repaying $2bn worth of eurobonds next year, equivalent to 5% of the country's GNP, is struggling to agree the terms of a new programme with the IMF and has turned to regional banks. [...]

NIGERIA UKRAINE CAMEROON Business 01/06/2021

VP of company building stadiums for Cup of Nations halted Interpol warrant to return to Cameroon Free

Franck Mathière, the vice-president of the group building stadiums for the Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon, returned to the country in April after obtaining a suspension of the Interpol Red Notice against him. The Frenchman was detained in Ukraine after Nigeria issued the warrant. [...]

AFRICA MOROCCO SWITZERLAND Commodity traders Business 21/04/2021

Amid Ramadan demand surge, grain trader Millcorp supplies Morocco via Switzerland

Moroccan financier Yariv Elbaz's Swiss grain trading firm supplies leading miller Forafric with wheat from Ukraine and Russia. [...]

GABON Business 14/04/2021

Gabonese sovereign fund repurposes footballers and club managers

To launch its luxury tourism projects, Ali Bongo's government has turned to the former vice president of FC Barcelona Jaume Ferrer Graupera, who has roped several of the Catalan football club's star strikers into his Gabonese adventure. [...]

Focus

AFRICA Finance Business 05/04/2021

The many lives of David Salama, go-to offshore specialist for sovereign wealth funds and oligarchs

For more than twenty years, David Salama has been putting his talents as an offshore virtuoso at the service of African states and tycoons active on the continent. [...]

GABON Politics 16/03/2021

On Sylvia Bongo's birthday, first couple travel to the Maldives

Syvia Bongo and Ali Bongo flew to the Maldives last week to celebrate the first lady's 11 March birthday on the islands. On the way, the presidential couple stopped over in Dubai. [...]

AFRICA 23/02/2021

Areva investigation: French judges comb through Helin's offshore company labyrinth

The French judicial authorities, which are investigating two transactions carried out by the former Areva group's mining division, are concentrating their inquiries on wealth management company Helin, which worked for Areva but also financed the activities of Sébastien de Montessus, former director of the French nuclear power group's mining division. [...]

Franco-Moroccan financier Yariv Elbaz at the 2014 New York Forum Africa. © New York Forum Africa/Richard Attias & Associates

Focus

GABON Business 29/06/2020

How Ycap became the Gabonese sovereign fund's favorite asset manager

After having been sanctioned by France's financial markets authority, financier Yariv Elbaz has succeeded in making a comeback in Gabon with his fund Ycap, which has become the main financial partner of the country's sovereign fund. [...]

Spotlight

GABON Energy 21/08/2018

Perenco in Gabon's offshore black box

With its nearly 25 million barrels of reserve a mystery field that is not on any map of Gabon's offshore blocks, has caught the attention of the family French-British firm Perenco. In turn dubbed Roussette, Espadon, then finally Sardine, this [. [...]

MOROCCO Business 09/07/2015

After investing in flour, YCAP turns to high-end real estate

Six months after announcing it would acquire the Forafric milling company from the Benjelloun family, the Paris-based investment fund YCAP [...]

Receive free prompts for these topics

GABON
Africa Communication Events GmbH
African Cup of Nations
Afrijet
Alexandre Guérini
Ali Bongo
Amir ben Yahmed
Anderson Luis de Souza
Béchir ben Yahmed
Boeing
Caisse interprofessionnelle de prévoyance et d'assurance vieillesse
Charles Duchaine
David Salama
FC Barcelona
FGIS
Forafric
Forafric Energy Gabon
François Perrodo
Helin International
Henri de Croÿ
Jean-Baptiste Tomi
Jean-Noël Guérini
Jet Magic
Jeune Afrique
Marwane ben Yahmed
Michel Tomi
Millcorp
MillCorp Media Group
Panther Sports Enterprises
Perenco
PetroPlus Overseas
Reach Media
Richard Attias
Sylvia Bongo
Verhill Corporate
Vincent Miclet
Vitoria Guimaraes
Yariv Elbaz
YC Energy
YC Invest
YC Ventures
YCAP

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Private jets, offshore fields, football, magazines: the presidential palace's untraceable holdings

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2 options offered to continue reading

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Time for Tomi to pay French taxes, rules Council of State

Africa Intelligence in court: JetMagic founder Antoine Hayem's defamation case flops Free

Elbaz opens up Forafric's capital to Trumpists and Kazakh oligarch Machkevitch via Nasdaq listing

Noureddin Bongo lands his diplomatic passport just before leaving office

Going, going, gone: yet another presidential plane changes hands

Fadil Yuzal, the Franco-Turkish businessman favoured by Sassou Nguesso

President's office rings the changes at Gabon Oil Co and oil ministry

Spring clearance sale under way on presidency's aircraft

Football boss saves face with Bakhresa broadcast deal

Who is really in control of the country's oil?

Ahead of joining Commonwealth, Gabon sends envoy to Paris

FIFA boss Gianni Infantino tightens his grip on African federations

Gabon tussles with IMF over loan programme

VP of company building stadiums for Cup of Nations halted Interpol warrant to return to Cameroon Free

Amid Ramadan demand surge, grain trader Millcorp supplies Morocco via Switzerland

Gabonese sovereign fund repurposes footballers and club managers

The many lives of David Salama, go-to offshore specialist for sovereign wealth funds and oligarchs

On Sylvia Bongo's birthday, first couple travel to the Maldives

Areva investigation: French judges comb through Helin's offshore company labyrinth

How Ycap became the Gabonese sovereign fund's favorite asset manager

Perenco in Gabon's offshore black box

After investing in flour, YCAP turns to high-end real estate

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Private jets, offshore fields, football, magazines: the presidential palace's untraceable holdings

This article may be accessed by subscribers and e-wallet holders (USD 31)

2 options offered to continue reading

Create your free account

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Receive free prompts for these topics

Time for Tomi to pay French taxes, rules Council of State

Africa Intelligence in court: JetMagic founder Antoine Hayem's defamation case flops Free

Elbaz opens up Forafric's capital to Trumpists and Kazakh oligarch Machkevitch via Nasdaq listing

Noureddin Bongo lands his diplomatic passport just before leaving office

Going, going, gone: yet another presidential plane changes hands

Fadil Yuzal, the Franco-Turkish businessman favoured by Sassou Nguesso

President's office rings the changes at Gabon Oil Co and oil ministry

Spring clearance sale under way on presidency's aircraft

Football boss saves face with Bakhresa broadcast deal

Who is really in control of the country's oil?

Ahead of joining Commonwealth, Gabon sends envoy to Paris

FIFA boss Gianni Infantino tightens his grip on African federations

Gabon tussles with IMF over loan programme

VP of company building stadiums for Cup of Nations halted Interpol warrant to return to Cameroon Free

Amid Ramadan demand surge, grain trader Millcorp supplies Morocco via Switzerland

Gabonese sovereign fund repurposes footballers and club managers

The many lives of David Salama, go-to offshore specialist for sovereign wealth funds and oligarchs

On Sylvia Bongo's birthday, first couple travel to the Maldives

Areva investigation: French judges comb through Helin's offshore company labyrinth

How Ycap became the Gabonese sovereign fund's favorite asset manager

Perenco in Gabon's offshore black box

After investing in flour, YCAP turns to high-end real estate

Receive free prompts for these topics

First visit

Contacts

Tools

Follow us

A website produced by

Indigo Publications also publishes: