Cameroon’s staggering losses: over 10 trillion cfa francs in resource theft exposed

How billions vanished: inside the systematic looting of Cameroon’s wealth

In a scathing public address, former Cameroonian minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary has laid bare a web of financial crimes spanning decades, revealing staggering losses from gold, oil, timber, and state contracts. Backed by official figures and audits, his statement paints a damning picture of institutionalized corruption under former president Paul Biya’s administration.

Pillaged resources: from oil to timber

The first wave of exploitation targeted the nation’s natural wealth. The National Hydrocarbons Company (SNH) reportedly generated billions in oil revenues outside parliamentary oversight for 40 years. Auditors found that Glencore acquired oil at less than 30% of its market value, while entire shipments vanished—unrecorded revenues alone exceed several trillion CFA francs. Timber fared no better: over 80% of Cameroon’s forests were illegally logged, with state complicity turning a blind eye to the wholesale plundering of land.

Combined, gold, oil, and timber losses top 10 trillion CFA francs.

Fraudulent contracts and ghost employees

The second layer of corruption involved manipulated budget lines. Lines 65 and 94, covering 2012–2021, were erased from records, accounting for 5.4 trillion CFA francs in unaccounted spending. The Supreme State Audit Court (TCS) convicted officials for nearly 9 trillion CFA francs in embezzlement during 1997–2021. Worse, phantom payrolls inflated the civil service: over 20,000 fictitious workers drained 200 billion CFA francs annually from state coffers. Scandals like the Yaoundé-Douala highway, 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (CAN), and COVID-19 vaccine overpricing—each exceeding 500 billion CFA francs in fraud—exemplify the scale of graft.

Tax and customs fraud: institutionalized theft

Fraudulent practices extended to trade. In 2023 alone, 1.665 trillion CFA francs in suspicious financial flows were detected. Customs fraud documented over six years reached 1.246 trillion CFA francs, while scanning fraud at Douala Port, linked to SGS, totaled 1.745 trillion CFA francs. These revelations underscore a system where rival factions within the regime vie for control over institutionalized fraud.

Personal enrichment: Biya’s inner circle

The final chapter exposes the ruling elite’s private fortunes. Investigations identified 744 million euros in illicit assets in the Netherlands, a 18-billion-CFA-francs estate in Cameroon, and properties in Dubai worth 44 billion CFA francs. High-ranking officials, including the president, his family, and key aides, allegedly used public funds to finance lavish lifestyles—including stays at Geneva’s Continental Hotel, where suites cost $50,000 per night. None declared their assets despite constitutional obligations.

A staggering cost to the nation

Conservative estimates place total losses at 26 trillion CFA francs—a figure likely far below reality due to hidden assets in tax havens. For context, this sum could cover salaries for all 380,000 teachers, healthcare workers, and soldiers for 36 years, or fund the construction of 2,600 district hospitals—260 per region.

Issa Tchiroma Bakary warned there will be no amnesty for those implicated. He vowed that every official involved in corruption would face justice, both domestically and internationally.