Alleged Bank Accounts of Cameroonians Abroad: Forjindam Cleared

By Fai Cassian

Forjindam Zachs: Prisoner with or without a Crime?

The list of alleged bank accounts of Cameroonian ministers, directors including some barons of the Biya regime was circulated on the net. It has been headline in many newspapers this week. Yet classified sources say the five accounts bearing the name of former Cameroon Shipyard’s (Chantier Naval) General Manager Zacchaues Forjindam are faulty. According to what we gathered the accounts published in alleged accounts are all based in Cameroon and not abroad. Sources hinted that the bank accounts belonging to Forjindam in Cameroon were frozen within the framework of “Operation Sparrow hawk” wherein all his belongings were also seized. More so it is aired that the accounts with a credit balance of 9 billion FCFA as published in the alleged accounts are not known to Forjindam at all. Meaning that these figures were doctored to make people believe in what appears to be another masquerade to settle scores.  

However, expressionists are of the opinion that the fact that if Forjindam’s name still appeared in this list, it is another calculated move to give a dog a bad name so as to hang it.

Prisoner with or without a Crime?

It should be noted that Forjindam was thrown into pre-trial detention for alleged embezzlement charges on May 7, 2008. According to the statutes he was supposed to appear in court within 6 months. But within that period there was nobody who showed up as the plaintiff that took him to court. His pre-trial detention was prolonged for another six months and he had to appear in court in 2009. Meanwhile on November 3, 2008, Antoine Bikoro Alo’o, the Interim DG filed a suite to the State Attorney against Forjindam claiming that during a routine internal audit executed by Atouga Edéné, Chief of the Treasury Department of Chantier Naval’s Financial Department, it was realised that the former DG, Zaccheus Forjindam had signed 12 cheques to the tune of FCFA 206, 699,290 as payment to suppliers of Chantier Naval without justification receipts. Mr. Atouga Edene who affected the said internal audit affirmed that it was a secret mission entrusted to him by Antoine Bikoro, reasons why his immediate bosses, Mr NDOUMBE Jean LeBON and the Director of Finance, Mr Jean Simon NGWANG, though on duty were not informed. It was a teleguided mission and Atouga Edene executed it to precision, yet he forgot that in 2003 and 2004 he was the person charged for verifying all bank transactions of Chantier Naval and if the payments were fraudulent why did he not signal at that moment? He decided to work alone and forwarded his report to the Interim DG, Antoine Bikoro without following the normal procedure prescribed by his hierarchy.

In the report, Atouga Edene accused his immediate boss, the Director of Finance, Jean Simon Ngwang of conniving with Forjindam in the signing of the 12 cheques. The Interim DG in all normal and functionary systems would have queried Jean Simon Ngwang to explain the accusations against him, but since he was looking for ways to nail him and Forjindam, he went straight to court without giving them any chance to explain the authenticity of the cheques. Antoine Bikoro did not notify the members of the Board about his decision to go to court. He did not equally ask the External Auditor Charles Kooh II that represented the American auditing firm, PRICE WATER HOUSE COOPERS why he certified the 2003 and 2004 with such irregularities.

Forjindam’s Verdict

The verdict which fell like a bomb on Forjindam and his supporters was taken on July 20, 2012 in a judgment described by many legal minds as an insult to justice. Worst of all, the verdict came just days after the Wouri Appeal Court that was examining the appeal of Forjindam that was convicted for 12 year instead gave him 15 years, thus adding three years to the original verdict pronounced by the Wouri High Court. During the appeal the court dropped and acquitted him of most of the charges that were originally imputed on him. This gave room to the retro ceding of most of his seized property. These gestures coupled with the dexterity of Forjindam’s lawyers who virtually crushed all the arguments put forth the nail him gave hope to Forjinadm and his supporters. But the final judgment that was pronounced sentencing to 15 years imprisonment did not look as emanating from the same case. The crux of the matter is not the 15 year jail term that Forjindam was given at the appeal but the issue that he was expected in court the next day and on July 20, 2012, that is two days after the Wouri Appeal Court gave him 15 years jail term, the Wouri High Court adjudicated on another matter and slammed him a life jail sentence.

Forjindam according what impressionists say is paying the price for spearheading the cause for the construction of the Limbe Shipyard Project which Anglophones in general had been clamouring for. It is no longer news that the Francophones never wanted the project as it was going to give some economy autonomy to the Anglophones and perhaps legitimate their secessionist tendencies. The government had earmarked to put FCFA 184 billion to develop the Limbe Seaport after decades of neglect. Thee mere mention of this amount attracted envy and some Francophones could not understand how an Anglophone could be allowed to manage such funds. They cooked up his arrest in an attempt to destroy the Limbe shipyard dream. Antoine Bikoro Alo’o who flushed Forjindam out hails from the Ntem Valley Division where he is CPDM Section President. Immediately Forjindam was sacked, the Limbe Shipyard project collapsed and the Kribi Deep Sea port projected was projected and launched while the natural Limbe port lies fallow.

Another remote cause of Forjindam’s trouble is the fact that he refused to cede to pressure from some top notch regime barons who accorded a dredging project to a foreign company at an exorbitant amount and he indicated that the state was going to loose close to FCFA 6 billion and opting to do the job with a lesser amount and in a less prolonged time frame. This affront from Forjindam pricked the bile of those who wanted to benefit from the deal and they promised Forjindam hell.

Alleged Accounts of Zaccheus Forjindam
• Account n°02990167409-20 (HSBC) S/C Dominique Serny Morat, 12 avenue de Pessiart 06100 Nice Grimaldi France
Balance as of 31-12-2009 : 128.000 euros approximately 83.840.000 FCFA
• Account n°00541956401-82 (Code Banque 10107) S/C Stanislas Guillet 7B chemin des fleurs 97423 le Guillaume France
balance as of 31-12-2009 : 410.000 euros approximately 268.550.000 FCFA
• Account n°66163226000-15 (Code Banque 18306) S/C Henri Lecordier 14 passage Lienny 76280 Criquelot Lesnevales Paris
balance as of 31-12-2009 : 72.000 euros approximately 47.160.000 FCFA
• Account n°038412813-18-GR30 (INTESA San Paolo)
balance as of 16-12-2009 : 748.930.000 FCFA
• Account n°340154609 (SCALBERT Dupont Paris France)
balance as of 16-12-2009 : 12.091.641 euros approximately 7.920.024.855 FCFA
• Account n°124988018-5 (Caisse d’Epargne, rue de Mazenaud)
balance as of 31-12-2009 : 843.000 FCFA
•Account n°1000300100050034293891 (Général Caisse Epargne and Financement a Hamsphild Grande Bretagne)
balance not précised
• Account n°37170200011170130 TEG (National Financial Crédit)
balance not précised
• Account n°95392660001-35 (BICEC Cameroun)

Balance not precised
• Account n°736568N49 ( current account),
n°432616W24 (saving account),
n°960513C22 (lodging account)
(Crédit Lyonnais agence de l’Ecole Militaire 68 avenue Bosquet 75007 Paris)
balance not précised

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