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[Exclusive] Cameroonian billionaire Baba Danpullo strikes back at South Africa’s First National Bank

By Jeune Afrique

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Posted on October 26, 2022 09:22

Cameroonian billionaire Baba Danpullo, in October 2019 in Yaoundé
Cameroonian billionaire Baba Danpullo in October 2019, Yaoundé © MABOUP

In early September, Cameroonian billionaire Baba Danpullo had the accounts of subsidiaries of South African groups seized in Yaoundé, in order to obtain payment of more than €370m ($371m). This close friend of President Paul Biya is retaliating against the seizure and liquidation of his real estate assets in South Africa by First National Bank.

It is a political-judicial soap opera that could well become the “Danpullo affair”. According to our information, on September 5 Baba Ahmadou Danpullo obtained from Quentin Djapité Ndoumbe, the president of the Court of First Instance of Douala Bonanjo, an order to seize the accounts of the operator MTN Cameroon and chocolate maker Chococam (a subsidiary of the South African food group Tiger Brands) at local banks.

The entrepreneur is demanding payment of 243bn CFA franc (more than $371m). Read on for details.

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