(Business in Cameroon) – On November 26, 2024, the Supreme Court’s Audit Chamber canceled a CFA13 billion fine imposed on the Atou firm by the Disciplinary Council for Budgetary and Financial Affairs (CDBF) of the Superior State Audit Office (Consupe). The penalty was linked to alleged mismanagement during the liquidation of former state-owned companies.
In April 2023, the CDBF accused the firm of mismanagement in two separate rulings. Based on these decisions, the minister in charge of Consupe signed two orders on September 8, 2023, requiring the Atou firm to pay a total of CFA13 billion. The orders were then sent to the Ministry of Finance (Minfi) for enforcement.
Before taking action, the Ministry of Finance requested the Supreme Court’s opinion on the legal basis of these penalties.
After reviewing the case, the judges of the Audit Chamber ruled that the financial sanctions were invalid because they had no legal foundation.
The court explained that, under a law from July 11, 2018, Consupe does not have the authority to impose penalties for management faults. Additionally, an April 2003 law grants the Audit Chamber exclusive authority over financial matters and disciplinary actions related to them.
In summary, the court concluded that Consupe had no legal power to issue the CFA13 billion fine, making the penalty unlawful.
The Atou firm, led by Lazare Atou, was responsible for managing the assets of several liquidated state-owned companies, including the National Office for the Commercialization of Basic Products (ONCPB), the National Ports Office of Cameroon (ONPC), and the Cameroon National Railway Corporation (RNCFC). These companies were shut down in the 1990s, leaving behind assets worth hundreds of billions of CFA, including properties in both Cameroon and France.
In September 2021, Consupe began auditing the liquidation accounts of these companies, even though Lazare Atou strongly opposed the investigation.
Following the audit, Consupe suspended Atou in November 2021, barring him from signing documents or taking any actions related to the remaining assets of the former ONCPB, ONPC, and RNCFC. Consupe stated that the audit had uncovered “potential irregularities that could cause serious and irreversible harm to public finances.” This investigation ultimately led to the penalties that the Supreme Court has now overturned.
