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Reuters
Paris — French anti-terrorist prosecutor has begun investigating potential war crime allegations against Groupe Castel in the Republic of Central Africa (CAR), sources close to the problem I told Reuters on Friday.
Local troops in a group of French wine, beer and soft drinks are suspected of paying local militias, sources said.
A Groupe Castel spokesman said the company is fully cooperating with French authorities on this issue and that internal investigations after the first accusation showed no evidence of fraud.
Non-governmental organization Sentry previously submitted a report detailing that SUCAFRCA, a subsidiary of Group Castel, may have paid to a responsible militia group. Due to torture, rape, and genocide, which said the investigation had begun after the investigation.
Groupe Castel operates a sugar operation in CAR, a country that has been plagued by fierce conflicts for years.
According to sources close to the case, the investigation in Paris was not officially targeted at groups or executives, but was opened "against X" where prosecutors could investigate from all directions. That is.
With the start of the investigation, Sentry lawyers Clemencewitt and Anais Salon told Reuters that the public prosecutor's office would be able to hear from witnesses and order investigations and seizures.
"The facts are being investigated under the legal status of accomplices in crimes against humanity and war crimes committed by armed militias in the Central African Republic," they said.
"The Public Prosecutor's Office will begin an investigation to prove the truth." (Report by Sarah Morland, edited by Tassilo Hummel and Gareth Jones)
