An alleged scandal that splashes a big figure in arbitration in Paris. And already resignations.
Will the interminable dispute between the Congolese State and the construction company Commisimpex of Mohsen Hojeij since the 1990s have a real twist? While two irrevocable sentences of December 3, 2000 and January 21, 2013 have ruled the dispute between these two parties, a complaint for corruption filed before the Judicial Tribunal of Paris, at the beginning of October, by Me Kevin Grossaman, one of the lawyers of the Congo , intends to update a supposed collusion between the Lebanese-Nigerian businessman and Yves Derains (firm Derains & Gharavi International).
A respected figure in arbitration in France, former president of the French Arbitration Committee and former secretary of the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the latter was at the origin of the conviction of the Congo to pay Mohsen Hojeij more than $ 1 billion in damages for unresolved projects
This complaint is based on the testimony of a former Hojeij employee who allegedly directly witnessed a conflict of interest between his ex-boss and Yves Derains. In their brief in support of the complaint that Financial Afrik was able to obtain, the defenders of the Congolese state believe in particular that Yves Derains would have been in regular contact with Hojeij. He reportedly traveled to Beirut to meet the entrepreneur and provide him with “confidential information.”
The payment of gifts like two Rolex brand watches is also mentioned, as are rebates in the form of a percentage on the sums and assets recovered by Commisimpex. Yves Derains would therefore have maintained a “secret and privileged” relationship with Mohsen Hojeij and his entourage. The testimony of this “providential” man, whose identity is not disclosed in the complaint, however, was reportedly recorded by the office of former United States Attorney General John Ashcroft, who has been working with Brazzaville for several months.
In another correspondence sent to the ICC on October 18, which Financial Afrik was also aware of, the same lawyers from the Congo specify that they want to challenge the arbitral tribunal which ruled this dispute; reopen the case and stop the execution of the sentence. In recent years, this has resulted in the seizure of many Congolese assets. The most recent concerned a Falcon 7X of the Congolese presidency seized at Bordeaux-Mérignac airport as well as several apartments in Paris.
While the French justice was seized, this complaint has already led to the resignation of Yves Derains from the Hojeij / Congo case followed by that of his two co-arbitrators, in this case Carole Malinvaud (cabinet Gide Loyrette Nouel), co- Arbitrator for Congo as well as Bernard Hanotiau (firm Hanotiau & Van der berg), co-arbitrator of Commisimpex. This withdrawal had been requested by Congo’s lawyers.
The future of the case is now in the hands of French justice. An admissibility of the complaint could lead to its reopening or even the cancellation of the procedures carried out to date.
