Issa Tchiroma Bakary has unveiled startling revelations, supported by figures, concerning widespread corruption within Cameroon’s governance. His recent public statement exposes the alleged mismanagement of gold, oil, and timber resources, fraudulent public contracts executed via budget lines 65 and 94, rampant tax and customs fraud, and the illicit enrichment of President Paul Biya’s inner circle. Below is an excerpt from his declaration.
“Fellow citizens, ladies and gentlemen,” Bakary began, “I was deeply alarmed by the estimated 2,000 billion francs in diverted gold. This discovery prompted me to instruct my teams in Cameroon and globally to meticulously investigate the nation’s public finances. The findings, I believe, will evoke a profound sense of anger, sorrow, astonishment, and even revolt among you. Indeed, it is self-evident that over 43 years, Cameroon has transitioned from relative prosperity to a state of absolute poverty and destitution for its people.”
Allow me to present the facts. The initial aspect of this financial predation concerns the nation’s subsoil resources, particularly oil. For four decades, the National Hydrocarbons Corporation (SNH) generated oil revenues that remained outside the national budget, beyond parliamentary oversight, and devoid of any transparency. Both the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, alongside the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (ITIE), have reported substantial financial outflows from Cameroon that never appeared in official accounts. The sale of oil to Glencore at less than 30% of its market value, along with vanished shipments and unrecorded SNH revenues, collectively amount to thousands of billions of CFA francs. Cameroon’s forests have suffered a similar fate, with 80% of timber being illegally traded. The country’s natural wealth has been openly plundered, allegedly with state complicity. Between gold, oil, and timber, over 10,000 billion francs have vanished.
The second area of concern involves the direct misappropriation through fraudulent contracts. Budgetary lines 65 and 94, covering the years 2012 to 2021, have reportedly been entirely erased. These two lines alone represent 5,400 billion in expenditures lacking any justification. The Special Criminal Court (TCS), established by President Biya himself, has tried and convicted his own civil servants for nearly 9,000 billion in misappropriations between 1997 and 2021. Furthermore, the issue of phantom employees persists. According to the Ministry of Finance and the Public Treasury, more than 20,000 ghost civil servants appeared on payrolls for years. For decades, the annual loss from this scheme has approximated 200 billion CFA francs. We all recall major scandals such as the Yaoundé-Douala highway, the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, and the COVID vaccine procurement, where documented massive overbilling exceeded 500 billion CFA francs.
The third dimension relates to tax and customs fraud. The National Agency for Financial Investigation (ANIF) and the National Anti-Corruption Commission (CONAC) have confirmed the existence of systemic fraud mechanisms. Their official figures are alarming: 1,665 billion CFA francs in suspicious financial flows in 2023 alone; 1,246 billion CFA francs in documented customs fraud over six years; and 1,745 billion CFA francs in scanning fraud at the Douala port attributed to SGS. Considering these figures, ladies and gentlemen, one can better understand the distressing spectacle witnessed at the Douala port since 2026, where SGS and Transatlantic appear to be two factions of the regime vying for control over the same institutionalized fraud.
Finally, the fourth and last aspect highlights the personal enrichment of the presidential clan. It is well-established that the Biya clan has systematically diverted public assets to acquire personal properties in Cameroon, France, and the Middle East. Investigations in the Netherlands have identified 744 million Euros in ill-gotten gains in France. This is in addition to the Nyom estate, valued at 18 billion CFA francs, belonging to the Secretary-General of the Presidency (SGPR); assets in Dubai estimated at 44 billion CFA francs; and stays at the Hôtel Continental in Geneva costing 50,000 dollars per night for the entire delegation. Without exception, Mr. Biya, his wife, his son, the SGPR, the Director of the Civil Cabinet (DCC), the Deputy Director of the Civil Cabinet (DCCA), the Minister of Territorial Administration (MINAT), and many others have amassed considerable personal fortunes without fulfilling their constitutional obligation to declare their assets, as mandated by Article 66.
My dear compatriots, the total sum of this predation is outrageous. A conservative estimate places the amount at 26,000 billion CFA francs. This figure represents a lower bound, as this regime has perfected the art of concealment through proxies and tax havens. Through reasoned extrapolation, our experts estimate that the actual amount could reach 80,000 billion CFA francs. To illustrate the sheer scale of this plunder, with 26,000 billion CFA francs, Cameroon could have paid 36 years of salaries for all 380,000 teachers, healthcare workers, and soldiers combined, or constructed 2,600 district hospitals—that’s 260 hospitals per region.
My fellow citizens, there will be no amnesty or secret negotiations where impunity is traded for a silent transition. Ladies and gentlemen, every high-ranking official found guilty of malfeasance will be held accountable for their actions before competent national and international courts.”
