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The fight against corruption of public African leaders seems to be intensifying. And it is a real novelty for many authorities which had a annoying tendency to turn a blind eye to the massive misappropriation of public funds in many African countries. A major explanation for such conciliatory attitude is that several of our European countries are former colonial powers. Indeed, many authorities felt uncomfortable dealing with those type of cases. France provides a good example of such delicate relationship with certain African countries. Many African leaders -and of course many other leaders across the world- invested colossal sums in France. In reality, it was hard not to know about the misuse of public funds and the confusion between public monies and their own pockets.These leaders and their families became immensely rich and the people in their countries remained extremely poor. This is the case in Equatorial Guinea a country rich in oil but with over half of its people living beneath the poverty threshold. The issues are about the same in countries such as Gabon or Congo Republic. Fortunately, the abuses and excesses committed by certain leaders and their families have shocked public opinion. Extravagant living by these officials have led judicial authorities in many European countries to seize their assets, pending the outcome of the proceedings. In the specific case of Equatorial Guinea the son of the President owned among many other assets a property in a very chic district of Paris worth roughly $100 Million while he had revenues of less than $100.000 a year. The pressure from NGOs and from public opinion has been decisive. It is now up to national authorities to take responsibility and to join efforts to combat ill-gotten gains.

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