Understandably excited at the prospect of the world’s best footballer arriving in his country, and during a period of rare free time no less, Gabon president Ali Bongo explained how the trip came to fruition.
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‘People are outraged about this, ‘ said an opposition source in the country, which is regularly linked with corruption and human rights abuses.
France Football reports that the Barcelona striker was paid a €3.6 million appearance fee by the Gabonese government for his brief presence.
“Good move or a communications coup for Ali Bongo?”, one person wondered on Twitter, under a photograph of the Gabonese president at the wheel of a convertible Mercedes Jeep driving through the crowds in Libreville, with Messi beside him in the passenger seat. Not bad!’.
“It s a promise he made me”. He is a man of honour who just kept his word, ” he said.
French cops routinely investigate corrupt allegations against the Bongo family – who are alleged to own 39 homes across the country including Paris.
‘In 1999, a US Senate investigation discovered 130 million dollars in his personal bank accounts at Citibank, sourced from Gabon’s public finances.
Gabon will host the Africa Cup of Nations in 2017 for the second time after having co-hosted the tournament with Equatorial Guinea in 2012.
A third of Gabon’s population live below the property line and 13.2% are reported to live in severe poverty.
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Barcelona High Court believes he has made money from a complex network of companies which hid £3m pounds from Spanish tax authorities between 2007 and 2009.
