An incredible affair is shaking the Senegalese financial and land sector. As revealed Liberationthe National Bank for Economic Development (BNDE) has uncovered a massive fraud involving the overvaluation of land in Kaolack. A complaint filed on December 24, 2024 before the Kaolack public prosecutor’s office triggered an investigation into forgery, use of forgery and fraudentrusted to the local research brigade.
Overvalued land: a scam in three acts
At the heart of the case, three plots of land located in the Sing Sing (Kaolack) area were awarded to BNDE as part of a procedure to recover a debt of 1.14 billion FCFA about society Vital SAwith the companies SCI Blueprint et Zenyl Senegal as mortgage guarantees.
Before the sale, experts commissioned by Vital SA had evaluated this land at astronomical values:
• 768.5 million FCFA for the 2.5 hectare land (TF n°8055/KI);
• 750.1 million FCFA for the 5 hectare land (TF n°7728/KI);
• 2 billion FCFA for the 5 hectare land (TF n°7428/KI).
During the award hearing on June 27, 2024, this land was acquired by BNDE for amounts totaling more than 3 billion FCFAin accordance with a starting price set at a quarter of the market value.
A second opinion which reveals the extent of the fraud
After the acquisition, the BNDE, faced with blatant inconsistencies, mandated another expert, Maître El Hadji Fallou Touré, to carry out a second expertise. The results were striking:
• The land initially valued at 768.5 million FCFA was estimated at 88 million FCFAi.e. a difference of 680.5 million FCFA.
• The second land, estimated at 750.1 million FCFAwas actually worth 175.6 million FCFAa difference of 574.5 million FCFA.
• The last land, valued at 2 billion FCFAwas re-evaluated at 300 million FCFArevealing a difference in 1.7 billion FCFA.
In total, the overvaluation would reach 3 billion FCFAan astronomical sum which raises many questions about the transparency of the first expertises.
Overwhelming evidence and a formal complaint
For the BNDE lawyers, cited by Liberation“it is common ground that there is fraud, forgery and use of forgery”. The initial appraisal reports, according to them, were deliberately falsified to mislead the bank during the auction procedure.
These fraudulent practices, they add, are corroborated by “a simple comparison between the amounts fixed in the expert reports established before the sale and those carried out afterwards”.
The next legal steps
As the investigation continues, the spotlight is on the experts who produced the initial assessments. Vital SA, SCI Blueprint and Zenyl Senegal could also be held responsible in this affair, which highlights gaps in the mechanisms for controlling land transactions.
The BNDE, for its part, is waiting for justice to be done to recover its dues and restore the confidence of its partners.
A scandal that questions
This case raises serious questions about the integrity of real estate appraisal processes and the risks of collusion between private actors and experts. As pointed out Liberationit also illustrates the potential abuses in the management of mortgage assets in Senegal.
Judicial authorities, already under pressure, will have to demonstrate their ability to unravel this complex matter and enforce the law. In the meantime, the BNDE, like other institutions, remains vigilant in the face of fraudulent practices that tarnish the image of the financial and land sector.
