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An internal investigation by the Congolese central bank revealed more than a year ago embezzlement at its branch in Lubumbashi. Billions of Congolese francs would have been diverted there as they had to be destroyed or re-injected into the banking system. RFI was able to hear this file so far remained confidential.
“I have nothing to do with these stories.” Computer scientist Kayembe Kimembe remains vague and says as little as possible. He knows he’s being chased in the hot seat. He struggles to justify himself in front of the investigator who questions him on the second floor of the beautiful building of the Provincial Directorate of the Central Bank of Congo (BCC) in Lubumbashi, the capital of the rich mining province of Haut-Katanga (Southeast).
Responsible for the IT office, he was questioned for the second time this Friday, July 12, 2019 by auditors from the headquarters in the capital Kinshasa as part of an incredible case about the alleged theft of bags filled with banknotes of francs. used Congoleser usually intended to be perforated and then crushed.
But then billions have been set aside, discreetly or almost. This is evident from dozens of pages of hearings and other internal documents that Radio France Internationale had access to. The technician is accused of having suspended the video surveillance system in the grinding room on the first day of surgery, May 14, 2019.
Cameras are not all off
Tonight on the weekend of July, Kayembe Kimembe knows he’s taking a big risk: dismissal or even imprisonment. During the first interrogation, which took place a month earlier, this employee, who had been stationed in Lubumbashi for almost eight years, had assured without tackling that he did not know how to use the video surveillance equipment installed in the bank’s premises. to avoid fraud.
The computer scientist is not completely lying. He finally admitted to having received the order to interrupt the signal just before the delivery of the first bags of Congolese franc banknotes unfit for circulation. Except that he did not understand how to do it and that he did not take care of the cameras that were located outside the room. They filmed him during these various calls, as well as other compromising scenes, and their images constitute the evidence presented by the BCC investigators.
“This case is buried”
Interrogation takes place smoothly between June and October 2019 in Lubumbashi and Kinshasa. Nearly twenty employees, from the simple security guard to the provincial director, are encouraged to explain themselves, and almost all have played a role or rules. To date, this painstaking work has surprisingly not resulted in any layoffs or beliefs.
Asked about this, a senior director of the BCC initially denied, assuring that if there had been evidence, agents would have been punished before claiming the case was “for justice” and that key officials had “left the bank and fled”. “For other agents”, their cases are still “ongoing” in the bank’s disciplinary committee one year after the completion of the investigation mission carried out by Kinshasa.
“Everyone is there, still in their positions, there is no trace of procedures at the level of justice, this case is buried,” regrets Timothé Mbuya, president of Justicia Asbl, one of the organizations for the defense of rights. of the most active men in Lubumbashi. “It’s so much more serious since it’s almost redheaded with CCTV cameras.” Until the RFI investigation, civil society knew nothing about this affair. For Mr. Mbuya, we must “publish” this type of case to avoid any risk of corruption in the judicial system and see the culprits slip away.
An institution under supervision
This file is particularly embarrassing as it raises the issue control of the money supply by the Central Bank, despite the security procedures and systems put in place to curb fraud. Several sources, including within the Bank of Banks, suggest that this practice may be more than an isolated act.
However, if a significant proportion of the Congolese francs classified as unsuitable is held in circulation, this may have an impact on the price of the Congolese franc. which continues to be depreciated for two years. “Last year there were several alarms, not just in Lubumbashi,” explains a former BCC employee. “It has been done since the time of Mobutu, but especially today, impunity is consecrated, each one places his parents here, who are there to gather resources. And the result is the level of competence you saw in the internal audit file. ”
This unprecedented leak also occurs in a context where the Central Bank is the subject of much attention. That International Monetary Fund (IMF) calls for transparency, but also for reforms, while the Congolese head of state, Félix Tshisekedi, has vowed to fight embezzlement and has been under the supervision of BCC suspected of being acquired from his predecessor.
According to RFI information, several dismissals were made to the General Inspectorate of Finance (IGF), which reports directly to the Presidency of the Republic. For several weeks, its inspectors have been monitoring each of its BCC operations.
Located in the heart of the beautiful city of Lubumbashi behind impressive gates, the building that houses the local branch of BCC, delivered just 3 years ago, is filled with video surveillance cameras. The investigators dispatched from Kinshasa realize it very quickly, they are not at the end of their surprises.
In these photos, we especially see computer scientist Kayembe Kimembe being guided by a “friend” who does not work in BCC, about the use of video surveillance software. “We see you from 9:11 receiving a ‘video’ call with a man appearing on your phone screen,” the investigator begins. “Are you aware that Article 139 of the Staff Regulations provides for a sanction for dismissal with notice in the event of a deliberate breach of professional secrecy?”, He continues. “I have not read all the articles”, is pleased to answer the technician more and more embarrassed.
“parcel‘Missing during the seven-day operations
The one asking Kayembe Kimembe to turn off the cameras is Nyemabu Lukinda, the head of the counting workshop in the finance department of BCC. He himself admits to the headquarters’ fact-finding mission that he has already “received a request for an explanation following the shortfall noted in the funds received in Kasumbalesa. [poste-frontière avec la Zambie ndlr] in 2011 “. The case was then closed” without continuation “.
This time, as the auditors are nearing the end of their investigation, they say on October 7, 2019 that they have “all the evidence today that Mr. Nyemabu had called Mr. Kayembe for this purpose”, we can read in one of the documents to which RFI had access.
After watching the videos from the other cameras, these investigators from Kinshasa quickly think they have understood why. On 14 May 2019, there is a discrepancy between the number of “packages brought to the shredding room” and the name of “packages indicated on the daily information sheet on shredding unsuitable banknotes”.
This phenomenon is repeated on May 15, 16, 21, 22, 23 and 24. At each arrival, there are two, three, four or even five bags smaller than what is officially registered. However, there is more than one signature in the archives and protocols, at least the head of the grinding room, chief treasurer, head of the administrative service and provincial director.
Everyone is responsible for overseeing these operations, but during the interviews, confronted with the pictures, they are discarded on top of each other. This is especially the case with the sanding room, Ntumba Mujanayi. “By continuing the images given of the camera’s No. 35 in the corridor, we showed Mr. Ntumba Mujanayi that there were only 14 packages out of the 18 that he said he had crushed,” we read in one of his audition reports. On October 3, 2019, the latter assures that he is not responsible for these discrepancies: “As for the forms, it came from my boss, chief cashier and I signed.”
At least a million dollars turned into bad bills
The main treasurer, Tshibangu Kabala, also denies everything. However, his name is mentioned more than once. The investigation team noted in the Navision management software an operation dated May 8, 2019 to convert nearly 2.5 billion Congolese francs (more than one million dollars) “of banknotes suitable for consumption into banknotes unsuitable for the same amount” The agent who claims to have done it on order, Ilunga Nsungu Nyota, cash handler, explains to BCC’s auditors that they did not first understand the “inconvenience” of having done it.It was a few days before shredding operations and the disappearance of packets of banknotes classified as unfit for consumption.
Worse, Tshibangu Kabala and his counterpart from the counting workshop also store “several dozen bags of money” in an “unsecured room with several keychains” instead of a “strong room with an armored door.”. The two accomplices would have justified it to their subordinates due to the lack of space in the safe.
Everyone quotes the “controller” as present, but it is almost absent in the picture. Michel Assani Mika was recruited by the BCC in 1989. He was appointed interim administrative head of the provincial direction just before the seven days of grinding in May, but he would not have received the “instruction” to attend. than the last three days. For the other four, he declares that he has signed subsequent protocols “for regulation”.
“I can not reject orders from the chief treasurer announcing that the request for signature of these documents is on the order of the provincial director,” explains Michel Assani Mika during his hearing on June 21, 2019. “Do you know that your behavior is gross negligence that has harmed the bank? “replies one of the investigators. The BCC agent replies:” I was waiting for someone to signal me “.
The provincial director also auditioned
The provincial director is also audited. Sangwa Mulobelwa refused for nearly a month to receive the Kinshasa investigation mission. He demanded a copy of all the surveillance videos that would be against him and evoked a provision in the statute for the agents that would entitle him to it.
“There are eels under the rock,” he tells listeners at a preamble, he swings photos posted by Whatsapp of perforated tickets and makes sure all the cuts in the packages for the month of May had been. Sangwa Mulobelwa was present at the start of the grinding operations when the first irregularities were noticed, he has not appeared in the picture since but he signed all the daily logs.
He seeks refuge behind his employees and presents himself as the “last to sign”. “It will be amazing that you ask the provincial director to count the number of briquettes per. Bag during a crushing process, ”he explains without being separated. As for the interruption of CCTV cameras in this highly sensitive space, BCC’s top management responded without blinking: “It is you who is telling me this, I am not aware of anything. Why not tell me over the course of more than a month’s stay to tell me about it today? ”
►Read also: DRC: The central bank reveals its financial audit report for 2019
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