Frédéric Lafont

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Frédéric Lafont is a former French Foreign Legionnaire and operator of a private security and military company with 3000 security guards in Ivory Coast . The UN accuses him of massively circumventing embargoes and smuggling weapons into the Ivory Coast. Because of the breach of the arms embargo , the EU imposed a ban on him and other Ivory Coast politicians from entering the EU.

Frédéric Lafont grew up as the son of a Protestant doctor in France. He served in the French Foreign Legion for 15 years. In the 1990s he settled in Ivory Coast as a security advisor and security service provider. He is married to Louise Kodo, the niece of the former Ivorian President Gbagbo. During the 2004 riots, his mercenary company was protecting Europeans in Ivory Coast.

Lafont was accused of violating the UN embargo and the EU embargo on arms imports. In a detailed report by a UN commission of inquiry, Lafont is shown to have helped former Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo to import weapons and to organize the transport of mercenaries. The report refers to UN resolution 1572 of the UN Security Council of 2004. It is also said to have organized arms transports for the Gambian President Yahya Jammeh . Furthermore, Lafont had offered Senegal extensive equipment for its army. He offered the government of Senegal a. a. Russian Mil-Mi24 attack helicopter. He wanted to bring the machines to Dakar in individual parts , assemble them on site and founded the airline “Sophia” for this purpose. The deal didn't go through.

In 2011, Frédéric Lafont and his wife Louise Esme Kado were banned from entering the EU by the European Commission in connection with the breach of the arms embargo with measures against the Ivorian government. The reason given is: “Is suspected of violating the embargo”.

Frédéric Lafont appeared on the Panama Papers leaked in 2016 . Mossack Fonseca founded his offshore company "Operationes et Service Limited" for him, the purpose of which is unclear.

"Risk" security services and other businesses

His company "Risk" is based in Abidjan and, as a private security service provider, guards politicians and government buildings in African countries and the Middle East . The company employs around 3,000 people. Lafont is part of a network of around thirty companies in the import / export, tourism and entertainment (bars and restaurants) sectors .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b The dubious clientele of "Mossack Fonseca". In: tagesschau.de. Retrieved April 8, 2016 .
  2. ↑ http://www.ladepechedabidjan.info/Cote-d-Ivoire-Frederic-Lafont-ce-Francais-suspecte-de-trafic-d-armes-blanchi_a2191.html
  3. ↑ Xalima News: Frédéric Lafont, un grand fournisseur d'armes de guerre à Dakar: chez le CEMGA et les rebelles. In: Xalima.com. Retrieved on April 7, 2016 (fr-fr, error in the source: "Mi23 helicopter", meaning Russian Mi24.).
  4. ↑ Council Decision 2011/17 / CFSP of 11 January 2011 amending Council Decision 2010/656 / CFSP extending the restrictive measures against Côte d'Ivoire , accessed on 8 April 2016
  5. ↑ La semaine prochaine dans Enquête exclusive. In: M6.fr. Retrieved April 18, 2016 (fr-fr).
  6. ↑ http://news.abidjan.net/h/385509.html
personal data
SURNAME Lafont, Frédéric
BRIEF DESCRIPTION French entrepreneur
DATE OF BIRTH 20th century
PLACE OF BIRTH France