Me Oumar Youm sur l’affaire Lat Diop : « On est dans une procédure d’inquisition »
Placed in custody on September 26, 2024, the former director general of the Senegalese National Lottery (LONASE), Lat Diop, will soon complete a year in detention. He has been charged by the Financial Judicial Pool (PJF) with embezzlement of public funds, money laundering, and extortion, for an estimated amount of 8 billion CFA francs, based on a report filed by businessman Mohamed Dieng, head of the online bookmaker 1xbet.
Nearly a year after their client was placed in custody, his team of lawyers is speaking out against a procedure that, according to them, violates all legal rules. "This is a settling of scores. That's the reality, and it must be said. He was threatened in his political stronghold in Guédiawaye by a state authority that says: 'I have the power of life and death over the justice system, the prosecution, and everyone else,'" insisted Oumar Youm.
According to the former minister, who has returned to the Dakar bar, "we are in an inquisition process." "We arrest people and then begin investigating. We are not in an illicit enrichment process," he fumes. Attorney Abdou Dialy Kane adds: "This case is a scandal. There is no evidence. Moreover, the investigating judge was obliged to request an expert opinion, but the report by expert Babacar Ndiaye was ultimately dismissed. The judge understood that this report was not serious."
Returning to the charge, Mr. Youm emphasizes that in this case there was no complaint from the State of Senegal or from Mohamed Dieng of 1Xbet himself, which in itself poses a problem. "On the basis of simple statements that are not corroborated, Lat Diop was arrested and placed in detention. It is Mohamed himself who pulls out an Excel spreadsheet to say this is what I handed over. There is no proof of the handover, no significant transfer noted in Lat Diop's accounts, if any," he confides.
Another incongruity, points out Mr. Youm: "For the first time in my career as a lawyer, I see misappropriation of public funds and there is no complaint from the State's judicial agent." However, in such cases, it is de rigueur.
Another violation noted by Lat Diop's lawyers: an absurdity in the charges. "Either there is embezzlement or there is extortion. You can't have both at the same time. Either this money belongs to the state or to Mohamed Dieng," he counters.
Regarding the length of the investigation, the former LONASE CEO's counsel described it as a "political hostage situation." "An investigation that lasts a year is serious. In a procedure for embezzlement of public funds, I have never seen a firm sentence exceeding eight months in prison. Therefore, the investigation cannot be a punishment before the letter," concludes Oumar Youm.
The pool of lawyers does not rule out taking the State of Senegal to international courts.
Commentaires (7)
Il n'y a pas eu de plaintes.
Malgré tout ça, le client de la PROS-tituée l'a kidnappé à l'aide de magistrats sans c.ouilles.
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