Former Burkinabè Education Minister Lionel Bilgo and his co-defendant, Vincent De Paul Kaboré, have been remanded in custody just five days after receiving provisional release in a high-profile money-laundering case.
According to the Burkina Information Agency (AIB), the two men were returned to prison following an October 19 hearing before the Bobo-Dioulasso High Court in connection with a separate, ongoing investigation into property development.
The defendants had originally been detained on August 28 before the Court of Appeal granted them provisional release on October 14, contingent upon each posting a bail of 20 million CFA francs. However, the public prosecutor clarified that the release order pertained strictly to the money-laundering charges and did not alter the existing detention order under the property development case.
The court sustained the prosecution’s argument that both individuals should remain in custody while facing charges spanning real estate transactions and financial crimes. Bilgo and Kaboré are scheduled to appear next before the Bobo-Dioulasso High Court in western Burkina Faso on November 16.
HO/te/Sf/lb/abj/APA