Senegalese Govt.determined to recover illegally acquired wealth

 

Suspects involved in serious crimes of violence against Chinese citizens in Angola are escorted to get off the plane after arriving in Beijing, capital of China, Aug. 25, 2012. A total of 37 suspects involved in serious crimes such as kidnapping, robbery, racketeering and forced prostitution were escorted from Angola to China. (Xinhua/Qi Heng)

Senegal's Prime Minister Abdoul Mbaye has said his government is determined to fight against all forms of corruption and embezzlement of public resources, and to continue with its program to recover all illegally acquired wealth.    "Beyond these measures which have been hailed by the Senegalese people and our development partners, we shall initiate reforms in different sectors to improve our administrative, security and judicial systems so that they can be effective in the fight against corruption," he said on Friday.
   The prime minister was speaking in Dakar during the launch of the Observatory of non-state actors in the fight against corruption and non-transparency.
   During his swearing in ceremony on March 25, the Senegalese President Macky Sall reiterated his determination to fight against illegal acquisition of wealth.
   Several senior officials of the former regime were questioned over the issue, and some of them have been arrested or imprisoned.
   Mbaye said several studies that have been carried out by international financial institutions showed corruption is one of the major obstacles to the country's development and economic growth.  Enditem

Meanwhile a total of 37 suspects involved in violent crimes targeting Chinese in Angola of west Africa were sent back to China under police escort Saturday.
   They arrived in Beijing by air on Saturday morning.
   The suspects, all of Chinese nationality, were allegedly involved in kidnapping, robbery, blackmail, human trafficking and forcing women into prostitution, said the statement from the Ministry of Public Security.
   Chinese police sent a special team to Angola and, with the cooperation of local police, they cracked 12 criminal organizations and 48 criminal cases, rescuing 14 Chinese victims, the statement said.
   The victims also returned to China on the same flight.

   It was the first time Chinese police launched a large-scale action against crimes targeting Chinese in Africa, setting a new example of cooperation with African police, said Liu Ancheng, head of the criminal division under the ministry, at the airport.  (Xinhua)