Swiss Investigation into Sylvia Bongo Ondimba
Switzerland has been looking into money laundering claims against Gabon’s former first lady Sylvia Bongo Ondimba since 2023, according to prosecutors and legal documents seen by AFP on Monday. The public prosecutor’s office in Geneva confirmed that “an investigation for money laundering is currently under way,” supporting a report by Swiss online outlet Gotham City.
A legal document obtained by AFP reveals that the investigation began in November 2023 into whether Sylvia Bongo Ondimba arranged for several million euros to be transferred to a Geneva-based Swiss bank. The alleged transfers occurred despite “suspicions of corruption of foreign public officials and embezzlement of public funds” by her and members of the Bongo family, the document added. “Consequently, the funds deposited with this institution were likely to be the proceeds of these criminal acts,” it stated.
Legal Challenge and Gabonese Government Role
The Criminal Appeals Chamber of the Geneva Court of Justice in May rejected an appeal by Sylvia Bongo, who was contesting the Gabonese government’s status as a plaintiff in the case. The public prosecutor’s office provided no further details, particularly about the progress of the investigation.
In November 2023, a court in Libreville sentenced Sylvia Bongo and her son Noureddin Bongo in absentia to 20 years in prison, notably for large-scale embezzlement of public funds. The pair, who now live abroad, spent 20 months in custody after the August 30, 2023 military coup that ousted Ali Bongo Ondimba as president and brought General Brice Oligui Nguema to power. Mother and son left the country in May 2025.
Allegations of Mistreatment and French Complaint
Sylvia Bongo has since denounced being subjected to what she said was violence and “torture” in detention. The Gabonese government denied the allegations. Lawyers for the Bongos said in May 2024 that they had filed a complaint in the French courts for “illegal arrest” and “unlawful confinement aggravated by acts of torture and acts of barbarism against several family members, including Sylvia and Noureddin Bongo. Both hold French nationality.
Sylvia Bongo Ondimba’s husband Ali Bongo and his father Omar Bongo ruled the oil-rich central African country with an iron fist for 55 years.
