The CAMAIR Boeing 747 'Combi' trial was adjourned to January 6, 2015.

Yves Michel Fotso, Cameroon’s foremost business magnate and former Director General of the defunct national air transport company, Cameroon Airlines (CAMAIR), failed to appear in court yesterday, December 9, 2014 in the embezzlement case pitting the State of Cameroon and CAMAIR against him. The audience that filed the court room yesterday waited for long hours. Originally slated for 9:00 a.m. the hearing only began at midday.

The session before a panel of judges led by the Vice President of the Court, Justice Francis Moukoury began with the verification of the prosecution and defence counsels. Both the prosecution and defence benches were complete but for the absence of the accused. Defence Lawyer, Barrister Martine Luther Achet presented a medical certificate as proof that his client was sick and could not appear in court.

He then pleaded for an adjournment of the case. The presiding judge, Justice Francis Moukoury, adjourned the case to January 6, 2015 on the demand of the defence a call for the accused to appear in court for the next audience. Yves Michel Fotso, is accused of fraudulently obtaining the sum of FCFA 18.9 billion sometime between 2000 and 2002 when he was Director General of CAMAIR.   

The suit brought against him by CAMAIR’s Liquidation Committee spelt out that the said sum comprised FCFA 4,051,209,866, FCFA 4,606,130,515, FCFA 8,934,203,742 which was compensation for the famous Boeing 747 “Combi” aircraft as well as FCFA 1,400,000,000 that represented the value of the wreck of the aircraft.