According to L’Observateur, in thirty (30) days, the accountant appointed by the judge of the second investigating office to shed light on the accusations of embezzlement will submit his report. Given that Alioune Touré, the expert, will need the collaboration of all the shareholders to carry out his work, Samuel Sarr’s lawyers are today filing a request for provisional release to, they explain, “benefit from the same conditions of defense as his accusers”.
It is now up to Alioune Touré, legal representative and accountant, to conduct a second opinion in order to reestablish the truth about the facts alleged against Samuel Sarr, former Director General of West African Energy (WAE), accused by Moustapha Ndiaye and its co-plaintiffs for embezzlement of 8.17 billion FCFA. These accusations led to Samuel Sarr being placed under arrest warrant, before he was transferred to the Special Pavilion for medical reasons.
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To determine the veracity of the facts of abuse of corporate assets accused of Samuel Sarr, the investigating judge considers that an in-depth technical and financial analysis is necessary. The extent of financial flows involving several billion FCfa in this company, as well as the nature of the agreements examined, justifies this expert mission. Alioune Touré’s mission will be to identify, analyze and trace the financial flows linked to the WAE, as well as goods, benefits and services, particularly for the period from the creation of the company to date. He will also have to verify the audit reports, by cross-referencing the observations of the Mazars and Racine firms with the available accounting documents.
The financial and accounting responsibility of Samuel Sarr in the management of the funds must be established. The expert must also identify anomalies, contractual irregularities and possible misappropriation of funds. In short, it involves establishing a complete statement of financial operations linked to the company’s corporate purpose, in order to determine financial and accounting responsibilities. The expert, who must submit his report within 30 days, will have access to the documents necessary to carry out his mission: financial statements, bank statements, contracts, audit reports, etc. To carry out his work in accordance with the law, he received a provision of 20 million FCFA, covered by the civil party. Its collaboration with all shareholders is essential.
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It is for this reason that Samuel Sarr’s lawyers, Baboucar Cissé and Cheikh Ahmadou Ndiaye, submitted a request for provisional release, so that their client “can benefit from the same defense conditions as his accusers”. Let us recall that, in the office of the investigating magistrate, Samuel Sarr had contested the facts with which he is accused. He had detailed his version of the facts to refute the accusations of his associates, affirming that a second expertise had rejected the conclusions of the Mazars firm and recommended a third expertise to decide between them. Furthermore, Samuel Sarr filed a complaint against Moustapha Ndiaye for usurpation of title, criminal association, and forgery and use of forgery in private writings.
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