France court refuses to seize Karim Wade’s property

PARIS

A French court on Tuesday refused to comply with the request of the Senegalese government concerning the seizure of Karim Wade’s property, son of former President Abdoulaye Wade, a Paris court said.

While he was accused of unlawful enrichment by a court in Senegal, the Paris court said it found no evidence of corruption or money laundering.

In June, a Senegalese court requested that Wade’s apartment located in Paris as well as his French bank account be confiscated.

The Paris prosecutor had considered the request admissible, to the extent that "the confiscation of an apartment and a bank account has no impact on the interests of the nation and the French public order."

Wade welcomed the decision of the Paris court.

“It is clear that the court has today sided with the arguments of the defense and found no offense whatsoever and of any nature whatsoever that could be seriously reproached Mr. Karim Wade,” Jean-Marc Fediba, Wade's lawyer to RFI radio.

Sentenced to six years in prison in March 2015 for illicit enrichment, Wade was pardoned last June by Senegalese President Macky Sall and later released from prison.

The court had also fined him $270 million.

The financial sanctions contained in the court judgment and the recovery procedure outlined in its verdict remain, the presidency had said following Wade’s release.