Forgery Scandal Hits BEAC: Ebibeyin Agency at the Epicenter of Counterfeit Controversy 2024
The Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC) has been shaken by a scandal involving the BEAC agency in Ebibeyin, Equatorial Guinea. A counterfeit banknote operation has been uncovered, implicating several high-ranking officials, including the Commissioner of Ebibeyin and the head of the BEAC agency in the city. The scandal has revealed a complex network of corruption and deceit that extends beyond the borders of Equatorial Guinea.
The case came to light when the Commissioner of Ebibeyin was detained in Cameroon with a significant amount of counterfeit CFA francs, totalling 1.5 billion XAF. Investigations have since unravelled a plot that involved the exchange of these counterfeit notes for genuine ones, which were then to be destroyed as part of the BEAC’s regular process of phasing out old banknotes. The plan, however, did not proceed as intended, and the details of the operation have been exposed by the confessions of the involved parties.
General Martín Osá Ndemesogo, a former military chief of the Kie Ntem province, admitted his involvement in the scheme. He disclosed the operation’s mechanics, the motivations behind it, and the intended distribution of the profits. According to his statement, the BEAC employee was to receive 1.235 billion XAF, the Commissioner 300 million XAF, the General himself 300 million XAF, and the counterfeiters, based between Cameroon and Dubai, were to receive 650 million XAF.
The scandal has raised serious concerns about the integrity of financial institutions within the CEMAC region and the ease with which such a large-scale counterfeiting operation could be orchestrated. It has also highlighted the need for stricter oversight and more robust anti-corruption measures to prevent similar incidents in the future.
As the investigation continues, the BEAC has reassured the public of its commitment to maintaining the stability and security of the monetary system. The incident serves as a stark reminder of the importance of vigilance and transparency in the fight against corruption and financial crime.
Suspected of being one of the masterminds of a network manufacturing counterfeit money in circulation on the border of Cameroon, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, the head of the agency Gregorio Nsue Ondo Obono, in detention in Yaoundé since the end of April, was suspended and replaced by a temporary worker. Several senior officials from the security services of the two countries are also under arrest.
The very famous three-border area (Cameroon-Gabon-Equatorial Guinea) has recently become a hub for counterfeit money within the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (Cemac). The attention of sub-regional authorities was drawn to an outbreak of complaints from economic agents, mainly active in the localities of Abang-Minko’o and Kyè-Ossi, on the Cameroon side, and Ebibeyin, on the Equatorial Guinea side. Investigations carried out carefully and in a coordinated manner by the Cameroonian and Equatorial Guinean security services made it possible, at the end of last April, to arrest several senior officials of the security services of the two countries, suspected of maintaining this network by facilitating the exchange of counterfeit money on both sides of the border, with the complicity of certain microfinance establishments. They have since been in operation at the State Secretariat for Defense (SED), in Yaoundé. The affair was reported by Malabo.
On his account, This is a group made up of a high-ranking officer in the national army of Equatorial Guinea, the head of the Beac agency and the Ebibeyin commissioner. They were arrested in Cameroon in possession of 1.5 billion CFA francs in counterfeit 10,000 CFA notes. At this stage, the Equatoguinean side was able to recover 50 million CFA francs in counterfeit notes.” We do not know more about the procedure which led to the seizure of this false jackpot. In addition to the high-ranking Equatorial Guinean officer whose identity remains secret and the police chief of Ebibeyin, several police officers stationed in Kyè-Ossi, particularly within the Cameroonian immigration services, were placed under arrest.
Photocopy
Facing the sub-regional press at the end of the session of the monetary policy committee on June 24, the governor of the Bank of Central African States (Beac), Yvon Sana Bangui, explained from the outset that given the level of security of monetary signs achieved with the 2022 range of banknotes, it was now almost impossible to forge them. “The Beac is taking strong measures to protect the monetary signs in our area. This is why in 2022 we put into circulation a new range of banknotes which integrate new security technologies,” he said. Before indicating that counterfeiters continue, nevertheless, “to use the rudimentary method of photocopying”. For greater efficiency on the part of the central bank, he added, “We are collaborating with the police services to be able to track down not only the counterfeiters but also the traffickers of these notes. The monetary stability of our zone is at stake.”
Within the issuing institute, indiscretions confide that apart from the head of the Ebibeyin agency in detention, who is also the subject of a precautionary suspension, the head of the issuing service within the same agency was also the subject of several hearings in connection with the investigation opened in the context of this affair. At the Beac, we recommend caution while awaiting the completion of the investigations.
