The Judgment Chamber of the Financial Judicial Pool (PJF) held its first criminal hearing on April 1, 2026. This hearing marks a significant step in the implementation of this specialized court for large-scale financial crime. In his opening address, the President of the Financial Judgment Chamber, Pape Mouhamed Diop, emphasized the highly symbolic nature of this hearing. He reiterated that, due to the seriousness of the offenses and the potential penalties, criminal proceedings remain governed by rigorous formalities, guaranteeing, in particular, the rights of the defense, the presumption of innocence, and mandatory legal representation.

In this regard, Pape Mouhamed Diop commended the President of the Bar Association and his staff for their responsiveness in providing lawyers for court-appointed cases, thus contributing to the smooth running of proceedings. According to the magistrate, the judgment of these first criminal cases originating from the financial investigation units follows the creation of the Financial Judicial Pool by Law No. 2023-14 of August 2, 2023, amending the Code of Criminal Procedure. The effective establishment of its members in September 2024 has injected new momentum into the handling of economic and financial cases.

The president highlighted the effectiveness of the system, based on increased specialization and a coherent coordination between the functions of prosecution, investigation, and trial. He also noted that some cases scheduled for this hearing had been transferred to financial investigating judges, in accordance with applicable legal provisions. "Two of the three cases examined were thus investigated and referred to the trial court in less than three years, while the third, opened directly by a financial investigating judge, was closed with pretrial detention not exceeding one year," the magistrate announced.

Looking ahead to the proceedings, the judge expressed his conviction that this hearing would allow the truth to emerge in court, while respecting the fundamental principles of a fair trial. Quoting Sully Prudhomme and Montesquieu, he reminded the court that justice rests both on the search for truth and on the just proportion between the offense and the punishment. "We strongly agree that the administration of justice is the perfect embodiment of the commonly used expression 'manifestation of truth,' which is its ultimate goal," concluded President Diop.