The court in Burkina Faso’s capital Ouagadougou sentenced Vincent Dabilgou, former transport minister, to eleven years in prison for embezzlement of public funds and money laundering, the local media said, citing judicial sources.
The court reportedly charged the former minister with "misappropriation of public funds" to the tune of 1.12 billion CFA francs (about $1.9 million), and "hidden financing of a political party."
Dabilgou is the founder and chairman of the New Era for Democracy (NTD) party, whose activities the court also ordered to be suspended.
The ex-minister must also pay a fine of 3.3 billion CFA francs ($5.5 million) in accordance with the order and is banned from all political activities for five years.
In addition, the tribunal directed that the former minister's assets be forfeited to the extent of the amounts embezzled to the treasury.
The court verdict also affected two of Dabilgou's former colleagues in the ministry, Sere Jean-Gabriel and Kouanda Malick, who received prison sentences ranging from six to eleven years, along with hefty fines for "abuse of power."
Burkina Faso has been ruled since September 2022 by a interim government led by Captain Ibrahim Traore, who took power from the previous coup leader Paul-Henri Damiba, who overthrew Kabore.