Former Guinean Defense Minister Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison for Embezzlement

Guinea’s former Minister of Defense, Mohamed Diané, has been sentenced to five years in prison and fined 5 billion Guinean francs (approximately $500,000) for embezzlement of public funds, illicit enrichment, and money laundering.

The Court for the Repression of Economic and Financial Offences (Crief) delivered its verdict on Wednesday, December 18, also ordering Diané to pay 500 billion Guinean francs (approximately $57 million) in damages to the state. Additionally, his assets have been confiscated for the benefit of the government.

Diané, who served as Minister of Defense from 2015 to 2021, had been detained since April 2022. Throughout the trial, which began in March 2023, he refrained from answering questions posed by the court.

This conviction follows the December 2 sentencing of Amadou Damano Camara, former President of Guinea’s National Assembly, to four years in prison and a fine of 10 million Guinean francs ($1,200) for embezzlement and corruption. Another high-profile figure, former Prime Minister Ibrahima Kassory Fofana, has been in detention since April 2022 on similar charges, with his trial ongoing.

The Crief, a special court established in January 2022 by Guinea’s military government led by Mamadi Doumbouya, was created to address economic and financial crimes. Doumbouya seized power in a coup on September 5, 2021.

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