A daughter of Gabon's late President Omar Bongo has for years been siphoning cash from her dad's property, a lawsuit claims.
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A daughter of Gabon’s late President Omar Bongo has for years been siphoning cash from her dad’s property – blowing the money on jewellery, luxurious holidays and jaunts on yachts and personal jets, a brand new $50 million lawsuit alleges.
The autocrat — who was the president of the oil-rich Central African nation for 42 years — left behind lots of of thousands and thousands in his property, which he bequeathed to 53 heirs when he died in 2009, in keeping with the Manhattan Supreme Court docket go well with.
However one in every of his daughters, Pascaline Mferri Bongo Ondimba, allegedly drafted a doc making herself the executor, with out consent from her dad or the opposite heirs, in keeping with the go well with filed Tuesday.
Yamilee Bongo Astier, one other of the president’s 30 youngsters, claims that her sister has allegedly been abusing her function because the executor to lie concerning the true measurement of the property and to steal cash for herself, the submitting states.
Pascaline has refused to point out the complete will to the household and has informed them the worth of the property is just $50 million as a substitute of the true quantity – which is lots of of thousands and thousands, the lawsuit alleges.
“Pascaline misrepresented to plaintiffs the character of the belongings within the property, omitting helpful actual property and different belongings owned by the property,” the go well with prices.
She then allegedly “transferred the belongings” to herself, 4 others and two corporations — who're all listed as defendants on the case, the courtroom papers present.
As a substitute of accounting for the property and distributing the belongings, Pascaline used the cash to “fund defendants’ extravagant existence,” the go well with claims.
She allegedly used the money to pay for personal jets for private journey, holidays, jewellery, luxurious items and “houses for herself and her youngsters” and others, the lawsuit states.
Yamilee Bongo Astier and her daughter Sasha Bongo-Astier are suing for no less than $50 million. The mother-daughter duo introduced their case in Manhattan as they're each residents of New York Metropolis.
“Plaintiff revered cultural custom and waited over a decade for an accounting of the property,” their lawyer, Kenneth Sussmane informed The Publish in a press release. “Plaintiff introduced this motion reluctantly to carry closure to this painful matter.”
El Hadj Omar Bongo Ondimba – who was considered a dictator and was the topic of a number of corruption probes – reportedly used Yamilee to funnel $2 million into New York banks as she was a Canadian citizen attending school within the Huge Apple, in keeping with a report by the Globe and Mail, citing US Senate investigative findings.
Her lawyer mentioned that the “Senate inquiry discovered that there was no proof of any wrongdoing by Ms. Bongo-Astier or anybody else. Ms. Bongo-Astier went on to turn out to be a US citizen.”
4 of the late ruler’s different youngsters – Grace, Betty, Arthur and Hermine Bongo – had been charged in France with embezzlement and corruption in April, Agence France-Presse reported.
His son Ali Bongo Ondimba has been president of Gabon since his father’s loss of life. He isn't a celebration to the go well with.
Pascaline Bongo declined to remark. Her attorneys didn’t instantly return a request for remark.
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