Guinea: Former Prime Minister Ibrahima Kassory Fofana's sentence reduced on appeal

The appeals chamber of the Court for the Repression of Economic and Financial Offenses (CRIEF) delivered its verdict on Thursday, July 2, 2026, in the appeal trial of former Prime Minister Ibrahima Kassory Fofana. He was found guilty of the charges against him, but the sentence was partially revised, with a change in the specific offenses and the case being referred to the Court of Cassation.

The court confirmed the guilt of former Prime Minister Ibrahima Kassory Fofana while reducing his sentence from 5 years to 3 years and 9 months of imprisonment, which he largely served during his period of detention.

He was acquitted of embezzlement of public funds. However, he was found guilty of illicit enrichment and money laundering. He was also fined 2 billion Guinean francs (approximately €199,000) and ordered to pay 3 billion Guinean francs (approximately €299,000) in damages to the Guinean state, which had joined the case as a civil party. The court also upheld the confiscation of his seized assets, which it entrusted to the agency for the management and recovery of seized and confiscated assets.

As a reminder, during the prosecution's closing arguments on June 18, the public prosecutor's office requested a five-year prison sentence for the former prime minister. For its part, the Guinean state, represented by its lawyer, sought a judgment ordering the payment of 20 billion Guinean francs for abusive appeals.

His lawyers say this decision contains many contradictions which justify an appeal to the Court of Cassation, and the prosecution has also announced that it will file an appeal.