A mission from the General State Inspectorate (IGE) has lifted the veil on troubling financial practices and the disappearance of accounting evidence at the Senegalese embassy in Ottawa, over the period 2019-2023. Faced with these damning revelations, the state’s judicial agent initiated proceedings for embezzlement and fraud of public funds.
At the heart of this scandal is a suspicious collaboration between the diplomatic representation and a company called “Ace Building”. This company would have benefited from a contract to renovate the former embassy headquarters for an astronomical amount of 3.5 billion FCFA, as well as architectural work valued at 36.9 million FCFA, all without compliance with legal procedures and without control.
To justify further expenses, the embassy claimed to have rented a hangar from Ace Building to store equipment for a period of three years. However, the supposed address of this hangar turned out to be non-existent. Despite this deception, rents were paid in full to the company, further fueling suspicion.
The most worrying point of this affair remains the total absence of accounting documents linked to these transactions. Previous officials spoke of the destruction of the archives in 2019, allegedly caused by the presence of asbestos during construction. As for the documents from 2020 to 2023, they seem to have evaporated, the new management team having found no trace of them.
Revealed by the newspaper Liberationthis affair highlights serious dysfunctions in the management of public funds, pointing to a deeply flawed system within this embassy.
Senegal
