Malian justice has summoned the head of French diplomacy Jean-Yves Le Drian whom it wants to hear as part of an investigation into « attack on public property and other offenses ».
The investigating judge of the economic and financial center of Bamako, Mahamoudou B. Dicko, invited him “to appear at his office on Monday June 20, 2022 for a matter concerning him”.
The case for which Le Drian is invited dates back to 2015, when he was Minister of Defense, and it was brought to justice by the « Maliko » platform (the cause of Mali).
This movement, made up of several associations of Malian civil society, suspects the head of French diplomacy of having facilitated the awarding of a contract for the manufacture of Malian passports to a French company, without respecting the law relating to public contracts which recommends a call for tenders.
The investigation wants to understand the role that Le Drian could have played in this case, knowing that one of his sons would have a link with the company in question.
The Quai d’Orsay said on Wednesday evening that it had not received a summons from the Malian courts. “No notification or information of any kind has reached us through the appropriate channels,” according to his comments to AFP.
This case will only worsen the already very tense relations between France and Mali.
By OMA Newsletter N° 700 of 05/12/2022
The OMA, NGO with an Intercontinental vocation
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Valuing human potential
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