In Gabon, the Libreville Court of Appeal sentenced Sylvia and Noureddin Bongo, wife and son of ousted president Ali Bongo, to 20 years in prison on Wednesday, in their absence and that of their lawyers, notably for embezzlement of public funds. This sentence matches the prosecution's request for 20 years in prison and a fine of 100 million CFA francs against Sylvia Bongo Valentin and her son Noureddin. They were primarily prosecuted for economic crimes and tried in absentia. The former first lady and her son are in exile in London and decided to boycott the trial, which they consider politically motivated. For Eddy Minang, the Attorney General at the Libreville Court of Appeal, this judgment will redress a "robbery of the Republic."

In Gabon's capital, the president of the specialized criminal court, Jean Mexant Essa Assoumou, declared Sylvia Bongo guilty of "receiving and embezzling public funds and money laundering, usurpation of funds and incitement to forgery", and Noureddin Bongo of "embezzlement of public funds, bribery, usurpation of titles and functions, aggravated money laundering and criminal association".

Both were sentenced in absentia to "20 years' imprisonment". Arrested after the coup of August 30, 2023, they were imprisoned for 20 months in Gabon before being allowed to leave the country on bail and are now in exile in London.

Twenty years in prison was also what the prosecution was seeking against them. In addition to the fine of 100 million CFA francs, the prosecutor had also requested the confiscation for the benefit of the State of all their assets: bank accounts, private mansions, oil and mining assets and more than fifty companies... as well as the reimbursement to the State of 4.4 billion CFA francs.

In his indictment, Eddy Minang, the Attorney General at the Libreville Court of Appeal, targeted "a mother-son duo who have misappropriated presidential power" after Ali Bongo's stroke in 2018. A duo "culturally distant from the country, but financially very close," he thundered, before detailing a whole list of alleged malpractices.

According to him, Sylvia Bongo received 16 billion CFA francs from the Treasury for her "personal needs," more than 24 million euros. The prosecutor also shared images of private jets acquired, he claimed, with laundered money; and listed real estate properties, including their London mansion and their Marrakech palace. He asserted that Sylvia and Noureddin Bongo Valentin "reigned supreme and are trying to portray themselves as victims of the system they created." He denied any violation of the rights of the defense or any physical violence, and defended the legal proceedings, including the visit by certain magistrates to the Bongo residence last May to negotiate their exile in exchange for their silence.

The accusations were denied by the defendants.

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Previously, in their closing arguments, the lawyers for the civil party, namely the Gabonese state, had already heaped long accusations upon the former first lady and her son, painting a picture of a vast system of embezzlement of public funds for private purposes... "they owned the land, the air, the subsoil," one of them argued.

Earlier, the court heard testimony from two other defendants: Sylvia Bongo's former personal assistant, the Korean national Kim Oum, spoke of purchases of jewelry, dresses, and works of art totaling three to four million dollars annually. He also explained that he was able to disburse funds from the presidency to purchase one hundred vehicles for the 2023 presidential campaign—a campaign budget of 80 billion CFA francs, nearly 122 million euros—despite holding no official position. "All final decisions rested with Noureddin Bongo," he asserted, while alleging that a parallel system of financial transfers was in place, with cash being handed over by the treasury and sent to accounts in Dubai.

Jordan Camuset described himself as a "jack-of-all-trades" in the service of his friend Noureddin Bongo, and confirmed the existence of considerable assets held abroad.

On the social network X, Noureddin Bongo says he "gave everything" under torture, and judged "zero" the credibility of a witness he says he saw being tortured in front of him.