Sylvia Bongo Ondimba, the wife of former Gabonese President Ali Bongo, is currently under suspicion for allegedly transferring millions of francs into a Geneva bank. These transactions are reportedly connected to the misappropriation of public funds.
Authorities in Geneva are actively investigating the spouse of Gabon’s former head of state. Swiss judicial proceedings, initiated in 2023, are focusing on a suspected money laundering operation involving Sylvia Bongo Ondimba.
Confirming these reports, the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Geneva has stated that an investigation into money laundering is presently underway.
In the course of this inquiry, Swiss authorities sought judicial cooperation from Gabon. While Libreville did not respond to this request for mutual assistance, the Gabonese State has since taken the step of becoming a civil party in the Geneva court proceedings. Sylvia Bongo challenged this move, but the Geneva Criminal Appeals Chamber validated Gabon’s right to participate in the procedure at the end of May.
This ongoing investigation comes at a time when Sylvia Bongo has already received a 20-year prison sentence in absentia in Gabon for charges of embezzlement.