The business Gokana is a politico-financial Affaire which currently agitates the République of Congo (Congo Brazzaville) and in which 300 million $ US would have been diverted in 2004. It constitutes an excellent illustration of the perverse effects of the system of the oil Préfinancement.

The business

November 28th, 2005, a judgment of a British court revealed that official Congolese had taken part in the sale of the oil of the Congolese State, through an offshore oil rig network of companies, intended to hold the oil incomes out of reach creditors who try to seize the credits of the National company of Congolese oil (SNPC).

The British court identified a traffic of at least 472 million US dollars, which forwarded through two companies, Sphynx Bermuda and Africa Oil and Gas Corporation. Africa Oil and Gas Corporation recovered the major part of the benefit released by the sales. (Source: Total Witness)

The system of companies screen is entirely controlled by Denis Gokana, special adviser of President Denis Sassou-Nguesso and directing SNPC. Whereas Congolese the Prime Minister Isidore Mvouba explained that the goal of these practices was only to escape the creditors, Global Witness estimated the companies screen pertaining to the close relations of Sassou Ngesso, among which Denis Gokana thus released from the considerable profits.

According to ONG of the countryside “Publish what you pay”, launched in 2002, the difference between the sum perceived in 2004 by the SNPC and the oil incomes received by the Treasury were of 300 million dollars, that is to say a third of the Congolese oil incomes.

An legal action brought in the United States, against the SNPC, thus identified over period 1999-2003 of the loans of a value of 650 million dollars refunded with 1,4 billion dollar of oil.

This variation is partly due to the practice of the oil prefinancings. The Congolese government promised into 2001,2002 then 2003, under the program of the the IMF, to stop this practice but did not respect its engagement.

References

• Congo: In Corrupt French Connection , Washington Post, March 13rd, 2006

• How Congo hides the money of oil to its creditors… And at its citizens , afrika.com, January 25th, 2006