Burkina Faso to launch offensive to recover state debts from fraudulent schemes

Burkina Faso's government is preparing to launch an initiative to recover debts resulting from various fraudulent practices. During a press conference held on Friday, April 17, 2026, in Ouagadougou, the Minister of Justice and officials from the State Judicial Agent AJE exposed some of these problematic practices. They revealed that individuals issued checks with the real intention to defraud, often drawing them from accounts unrelated to the companies they claimed to represent. These checks, when presented to the Treasury for cashing, were found to have insufficient funds. It was also discovered that the individuals involved were often unknown to tax services. Karfa Gnanou of the AJE explained that several companies were specifically created for these operations, designed solely to deceive the administration. He described this as a "criminal association," where companies were formed, accounts opened, and checkbooks requested. These individuals knew they would use the checks to pay customs duties and taxes, despite having minimal funds in their accounts, leading to unpaid checks and making it difficult to trace the entities. Gnanou provided an example where an individual, responsible for customs duties or taxes, denied issuing a check. The administration found that this person paid taxes in cash, sending an employee, but receipts were issued indicating payment "by check." The company did not verify these receipts until the administration brought it to their attention, reveali