En pengeforsendelse ankom angiveligt til præsidentpalæet gemt i afrikanske bongo-trommer
French Ex-President Jacques Chirac and his ally Dominique de Villepin (who later became prime minister) allegedly received tens of millions of dollars in bundles of banknotes from several African leaders.
The accusations are made in an extraordinary newspaper interview with the man who, for many years, acted as an unofficial intermediary between the Elysee palace and African governments, BBC online reports Monday.
Robert Bourgi, a 66-year-old lawyer, claims that in Mr Chirac’s 2002 re-election campaign he personally passed on cash contributions worth millions of dollars.
The money allegedly came from the leaders of five African countries, all former French colonies: Senegal, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Congo-Brazzaville and Gabon. Mr Bourgi claims that Mr de Villepin personally handled most of the cash deliveries, which, he says, lasted from 1997 till 2005.
He relates how on one occasion the money arrived at the Elysee palace hidden in African bongo drums. – When there were big deliveries to be made, I was expected like Father Christmas, he recalls.
– Once I had a big sports bag full of money and it was so heavy my back hurt. Chirac and (the late Gabonese leader Omar) Bongo were sitting together comfortably in de Villepin’s office. I greeted them and then put the bag behind the sofa. Everyone knew what was in it.
– Sometimes Dominique would coolly arrange the bundles of notes in the drawers of his desk, right in front of us says Mr Bourgi.
Mr Chirac and Mr de Villepin have furiously denied the accusations, and promised to sue for libel (bagvaskelse).
Under la Francafrique – the relationship maintained by France for decades with its former colonies – African leaders guaranteed French access to mineral resources and arms contracts, and in return a French military presence more or less ensured their survival in power.
In later years the mutual financial interests grew in importance. Major state enterprises in France like the oil giant Total paid out millions in bribes. In return African leaders often syphon part of their gains back to France to fund political parties, BBC notes.
