Latest news with #financement
Irish Times
09-07-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
French police raid offices of Marine Le Pen's far-right party
French police have raided the headquarters of France's far-right Rassemblement National (RN) in an investigation into campaign funding, prompting complaints from the party that it was being targeted for political reasons. Party chief Jordan Bardella said in a post on X that about 20 armed officers of France's financial police brigade had raided the party's Paris office on Wednesday morning and seized emails, documents and accounting information that went back to 2022. 'The entirety of the files concerning the recent regional, presidential, parliamentary and European campaigns – all the party's electoral activity – are today in the hands of the judiciary,' Mr Bardella said. He said the officers were accompanied by two investigating judges. READ MORE The operation comes months after the RN's three-time presidential candidate Marine Le Pen and other party members were found guilty of embezzling EU funds, potentially blocking her from running for office in the 2027 presidential elections. She is appealing against the verdict and says she will still stand to succeed President Emmanuel Macron. The Paris prosecutor said the raid on Wednesday was part of an investigation that began after 'multiple alerts from an institutional source' alleging, in part, that the party illegally funded its campaigns using loans from supporters. 'The judicial investigation aims to determine whether these campaigns were financed through illegal loans from individuals benefiting the party or its candidates, as well as through overbilling of services or invoicing for fake services that were later included in the reimbursement requests submitted to the state for campaign expenses,' the prosecutor's office said. Loans from supporters are not illegal as long as their use is not 'habitual' and the money is reimbursed with interest within five years. Such loans must not exceed €15,000, but they are not subject to the French electoral system's usual strict donation caps, which are scrupulously audited by the campaign watchdog. Individuals can only donate €7,500 a year per political party, and €4,600 per election per candidate. Given its chronic difficulties in securing loans from French banks to finance campaigns, the RN has several times asked supporters to take part in so-called 'patriotic lending schemes' in which they contribute a minimum of €500 to be reimbursed later with interest. The CNCCFP, the elections watchdog, wrote in its 2023 audit of the RN's campaign accounts that the party had reimbursed only €3.3 million of €12.1 million in loans that had passed their repayment deadlines. Speaking to AFP at the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday, Mr Bardella said: 'No French bank wanted to lend money to the Rassemblement National to finance its electoral campaigns, so it's quite incredible to reproach the Rassemblement National for financing itself and to have loans that are perfectly legal.' He had earlier called the inquiry 'spectacular and unprecedented', saying it amounted to a 'new [kind of] harassment' of the RN. 'An opposition party has never suffered such persecution under the Fifth Republic,' said Mr Bardella. Prosecutors are now looking into whether some of those loans were too large and lasted too long, in violation of campaign financing rules. The investigation is another blow to Ms Le Pen and the RN, both already reeling since her embezzlement conviction. The legal woes have called into question her long, uncontested role as the leader of the far-right party her father founded decades ago, and led to new fissures within it. Ms Le Pen and the 29-year-old Mr Bardella have both said that he would run for president if she were prevented from doing so. But their once-solid mutual loyalty is now under pressure. On a trip to the French overseas territory of New Caledonia last month, Ms Le Pen slapped down a question from journalists over why Mr Bardella was not with her. 'I am not sure Jordan is very familiar with the problems of New Caledonia. We have different talents,' she said with irritation. In recent days, the media have reported that the European Parliament is also investigating allegations that the RN's parliamentary group committed wrongdoing by granting money without sufficient controls to charities and organisations that were sympathetic to its ideals. The EU parliament was at the origin of the embezzlement case that led to Ms Le Pen's conviction. – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2025
Zawya
11-06-2025
- Business
- Zawya
African Development Bank and International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) hold workshop for Francophone West Africa governments to strengthen development effectiveness
The African Development Bank ( and the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) concluded a workshop on Thursday aimed at enhancing the use of development finance data to support national planning, coordination, and accountability. The workshop was attended by government representatives from Francophone West Africa. The three-day workshop, held from 3 to 5 June, took place at the headquarters of the African Development Bank Group in Abidjan, with participants from Côte d'Ivoire, Benin, Burkina Faso, Niger, Senegal, and Togo. During the event, government representatives explored how IATI data can help track external resources, align aid with national priorities, and strengthen decision-making. A key focus for the workshop participants was strengthening dialogue with development partners to improve the information on billions of dollars of development investments flowing into Francophone West Africa. Participants also received practical training on the use of IATI data and tools. Development partner representatives from Agence Française de Développement, Islamic Development Bank, West African Development Bank (BOAD), and the World Bank attended the workshop. These partners, including the African Development Bank, through IATI, have published detailed information on their development finance, projects and results. Since 2013, the Bank has published over $200 billion in project and results data to the IATI Standard. Armand Nzeyimana, Director of the Development Impact and Results Department at the African Development Bank, emphasised the Bank's leadership on transparency in his opening remarks: "Since joining IATI in 2011, the Bank has made a firm commitment to making transparency a cornerstone of its work." The African Development Bank has shared public data about its investments through the creation of its Data Portal and MapAfrica platform, which visualises over 5,700 projects across 17,600 locations, aligned with the Bank's High 5 strategic priorities, Nzeyimana said. This approach resulted in the African Development Bank's sovereign portfolio being recognised as the most transparent out of 50 global development institutions in 2022 and 2024, according to Publish What You Fund's ( Aid Transparency Index, Nzeyimana added. For Charlie Martial Ngounou, Vice-Chair of IATI's Governing Board, the workshop provided an important opportunity for governments and partners in Francophone West Africa to work towards 'greater transparency, coordination, and effectiveness in development cooperation.' He underlined the importance of ensuring that IATI serves country-level realities, noting: "The value of a standard lies in its adoption, its adaptation, and its relevance to country contexts. The real impact of IATI is found in your ministries, your dashboards, your planning and coordination processes." Representing the Government of Côte d'Ivoire, Dr. Nahoua Yeo, Directeur de Cabinet at the Ministry of Economy, Planning and Development, highlighted the importance of accessible, high-quality data for government leadership: "I commend the IATI initiative for its leading role in standardizing, collecting, and disseminating data on development cooperation. Thanks to this standard, countries like ours can access strategic information, enhance budgetary transparency, and improve the quality of dialogue with partners. I also commend the AfDB for its continued commitment to aid effectiveness and support to member states." The workshop concluded with participants agreeing on a regional roadmap to enhance the use of IATI data at the country level in francophone west Africa. Participants also looked ahead to 2030 and input their vision for what IATI's next strategic plan should focus on to meet the information needs of francophone African countries. Both institutions look forward to continuing their partnership with countries to advance transparency, increase country ownership, and improve the effectiveness of development cooperation. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Development Bank Group (AfDB). Contacts: African Development Bank: Amba Mpoke-Bigg Communication and External Relations Department email: media@ IATI: Rohini Simbodyal IATI Advocacy and Communications Specialist Sustainable Finance Hub email: About the African Development Bank Group: The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) is Africa's premier development finance institution. It comprises three distinct entities: the African Development Bank (AfDB), the African Development Fund (ADF) and the Nigeria Trust Fund (NTF). On the ground in 44 African countries with an external office in Japan, the AfDB contributes to the economic development and the social progress of its 54 regional member states. For more information: About the International Aid Transparency Initiative: IATI is a global initiative to improve the transparency of development and humanitarian resources and their results to address poverty and crises. See for more information. To date over 1,700 organisations have published data on nearly 1 million development and humanitarian projects, providing visibility on USD 3.7 trillion in spending. For more information:
Reuters
19-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Islamic development bank to lend Algeria $3 billion for projects over next 3 years
TUNIS, May 19 (Reuters) - The President of the Islamic Development Bank said on Monday that Algeria is expected to receive $3 billion in loans over the next three years to support the implementation of key development projects. Bank President Muhammad Sulaiman Al Jasser told Algeria's Ennahar TV the funding will be directed toward projects including railway development, as part of the president's plan to connect the country's economic zones.
