Guinea sentences ex-minister Oye Guilavogui to six years in absentia for corruption

A Guinean court sentenced former minister Oye Guilavogui in absentia on Monday to six years in prison for corruption and misuse of public funds.

Guilavogui, who previously led Guinea’s telecommunications and environment ministries, was convicted by the Court for the Suppression of Economic and Financial Offences.

The court found him guilty of misappropriating public funds, illicit enrichment, corruption and money laundering.

It issued an arrest warrant, ordered the confiscation of his assets and imposed a fine of two billion Guinean francs, around $230,000.

Guilavogui was also ordered to pay five billion Guinean francs in damages to the state.

He was detained in April 2022 on embezzlement charges alongside several former ministers who served under ousted president Alpha Conde.

Those detained included former prime minister Ibrahima Kassory Fofana.

A court authorised Guilavogui to leave Guinea in October 2023 for medical treatment abroad, but he has not returned.

Prosecutors had sought a 10-year prison sentence and a fine of 50 billion Guinean francs.

The case forms part of a crackdown on alleged corruption by the military junta led by Mamady Doumbouya, which seized power in a 2021 coup.