The Senegalese freight forwarder Mr. Diouf is currently the victim of a major fraud involving a large shipment of sesame seeds, with an estimated value of more than 5 billion FCFA. This international scandal involves a group of individuals from China, Mali and Senegal, who allegedly manipulated the export process by filling 300 containers with sand instead of sesame seeds, before shipping them to China.
On December 26, 2024, Mr. Diouf, through his lawyer, filed a complaint with the establishment of a civil party before the Dean of Investigating Judges near the Dakar court. In his complaint, he details the facts and accuses a mafia of fraud, including in particular a Malian, A. Sankaré, a Chinese, Mr. Pengcheng, and a Senegalese, A. Dia, as well as other accomplices whose identities are not have not been fully revealed.
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The story dates back to October 7, 2024, when Mr. Diouf signed a contract for the export of 28.5 tonnes of sesame seeds to China. His company, specializing in transit, is responsible for customs formalities and shipping containers. However, after signing the contract, Mr. Diouf received information from the Chinese national, indicating that a dedicated team in Thiès would take care of the loading, which prevented him from directly supervising the operation. It therefore focuses on customs formalities and shipping.
A few weeks later, the shipping company CMA informed Mr. Diouf that the containers, instead of containing sesame seeds, were filled with sand. He then realizes that the fraud was carefully orchestrated. The scammers used falsified documents and forged signatures to fake a legitimate transaction and manipulate the reputation of his company, which was well established in trade with China.
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To strengthen their strategy, the scammers diverted Mr. Diouf’s attention by sending him to Burkina Faso, pretending to organize an exhibition on sesame seeds. They were thus able to carry out their scam without the freight forwarder noticing it in time.
Mr. Diouf therefore requested the opening of a judicial investigation in order to clarify this matter and prosecute those responsible, whom he accuses of fraud and criminal association, under articles 379 BIS and 238 of the Penal Code Senegalese. This scam could, moreover, have diplomatic repercussions between Senegal and China, given the international nature of the fraud.
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