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Ex-Elf chief charged over fraud probe in Togo: lawyer

By AFP
Togo The former Elf CEO faced questioning from a Togolese judge for some three hours Monday.  By Fred Tanneau AFPFile
SEP 18, 2012 LISTEN
The former Elf CEO faced questioning from a Togolese judge for some three hours Monday. By Fred Tanneau (AFP/File)

LOME (AFP) - The former head of French oil giant Elf, Loik Le Floch-Prigent, has been charged with accessory to fraud in the West African nation of Togo after appearing before a judge, his lawyer said Tuesday.

"Loik Le Floch-Prigent was charged yesterday," Rustico Lawson-Bankou told AFP, adding that the charge was accessory to fraud.

The former Elf CEO faced questioning from a Togolese judge for some three hours Monday after being extradited from Ivory Coast in the fraud probe.

The investigation involves a complaint from an Emirati businessman who alleges he was the victim of a $48-million (37-million-euro) fraud.

The businessman, Abbas Al Yousef, claims Le Floch-Prigent was acting as his personal adviser during the alleged fraud.

Togo's former minister of territorial administration, Pascal Bodjona, has been charged over the allegations as well as Togolese businessman Bertin Sow Agba.

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