Former Minister and former Director-General of the Senegalese National Lottery (Lonase), Lat Diop, will remain in detention after the rejection of his request for provisional release. D’abord refused by the judge of the premier cabinet financier, cette demande avait été acceptée mercredi par la Chambre d’accusation financière, suite aux plaidoiries de son collectif d’avocats, dirigé par Me Baboucar Cissé. This request was initially refused by the judge of the premier cabinet financier, but was accepted on Wednesday by the Chambre d’accusation financière, following the pleadings of his collective of lawyers, led by Me Baboucar Cissé. The magistrates had then granted a liberté provisoire sous conditions strictes: the wearing of an electronic bracelet and an assignation à résidence, limiting his movements to those expressly authorized by the judge. However, the final decision rested with the parquet général, which had six days to lodge an appeal in cassation. According to information obtained by Libération, the public prosecutor’s office has decided to refer the case to the Supreme Court, thus prolonging the uncertainty surrounding the judicial fate of Lat Diop. For the record, Lat Diop had been arrested by the Division of Criminal Investigations (DIC) before being placed under mandat de dépôt on 26 September last. He is being prosecuted for alleged misappropriation of public funds, money laundering and extortion of funds, amounting to an estimated 8 billion CFA francs.
Lat Diop case: The public prosecutor opposes his release and maintains his incarceration
