removing certain hindrances; and subsequently, they concocted another
business story on the transfer of certain funds belonging to.. an lraqi
General, and once again, they were able to extort from Mr. Abass AI
Youssef the sum of USD 5,600,000.
14. Again, for the purposes of resolving difficulties in relieving certain
financial obligations incurred in relation to the transfer of the entire
fund in question, other cumulated advance fees amounting to 33 Million
US Dollars were paid by Mr. Abass AI Youssef to Mr. Sow Bertin Agba et
al. Mr. Abass AI Youssef eventually realised that it was all a fabrication
and he filed a complaint against Mr. Sow Bertin Agba et al. for fraud,
; involving almost 48 Milliof1 US Dollars. Mr. Sow Bertin . Agba was
'
I
· summoned by the Gendarmerie for questioning, and was subsequently
'
, transferred to the Court of First Instance of Lome and placed under a
committal order for fraud, forgery and use of fake documents.
'
15. After he had been interrogated on the merits of the case, he applied for
provisional release, which
was rejected.
A second
application for
provisional release was equally dismissed. Upon an appeal filed by him,
the Criminal Chamber ordered that he should be released on provisional
grounds, upon payment of a surety of CFA F 150,000,00cfa.
16. The Public Prosecutor referred the judgment of the Criminal Chamber
before the Supreme Court for violation of Article 422 (2) of the Code of
Criminal Procedure of Togo, since the Criminal Chamber had decided
that the witness Pascal Bodjona shall be heard by the President of the
said Chamber, whereas the Article invoked provides that depositions of
Members of the Government shall be heard by the Presi·dent of the
Court of Appeal.
17. Furthermore, the Republic of Togo averred that the pending issues
included non-enforcement of the international warrants of arrest issued
against Mr. Lo'ik Floch-Prigent, who is a French national; the question
regarding the alleged parents of the late lvorian President Guei; and, the
hearing Mr. Pascal Bodjona, etc. The Republic of Togo argued therefore
that for all those reasons, the preventive detention of the Applicant is
5