Benin: a couple accused of a bank fraud amounting to 300 million FCFA

At the heart of this scandal, a bank employee, seen as the mastermind of the operation, is now on the run. The main defendant allegedly set up a fictitious company through which she contracted numerous fraudulent loans, Banouto reported.

Even worse, she is said to have used the identities of actual bank customers, who never applied for a loan, to set up her scam system. Her husband, involved in the process, is suspected of supplying these identities.

Arrested at the start of the case, the defendant was temporarily released, but never showed up in court again. She is now considered a fugitive, according to the plaintiff’s attorneys. Her husband, on the other hand, has been in custody since 2018 and appeared before the Court on Monday, June 16, 2025.

Five years of prison required against the husband

During the hearing, the prosecution sought a firm five-year prison sentence against the banker’s husband, coupled with a two million FCFA fine. In addition to the penal sanctions, the bank’s lawyers are demanding 294 million FCFA for the damage suffered, and 50 million FCFA in damages and interest.

“The facts are established from reading the file,” stated the representative of the public prosecutor’s office, urging the Court to follow the requisitions.

Judgement has been postponed. If the Court aligns with the prosecutor’s requisitions, the defendant could regain his freedom taking into account his years of preventive detention.