Karim Wade, son of former Senegalese president Abdoulaye, looks on during an ex-ruling party protest to denounce ''selective auditions" of party heads regarding investigation over possible illegal enrichment, on December 6, 2012 in Dakar. Karim has been arrested by gendarmes in Dakar, one of his lawyers announced on April 15, 2013. PHOTO | AFP



Karim Wade, the son of Senegalese ex-President Abdoulaye Wade, was Monday arrested after he failed to convince a judge on the sources of his estimated $1 billion in assets.

Special court judge Alioune Ndaw issued the warrant of arrest hours after Mr Wade's lawyers submitted a document said to be justifying his fortune.

Mr Ciré Ly, one of Mr Wade’s lawyers, confirmed the arrest of his client and described it as a "show of force".

Sources close to the court said the judge had no been "quite convinced" about the explanation offered and ordered that Mr Wade be arrested and temporarily detained.

Mr Wade was picked up from his Dakar residence by paramilitary police gendarmes and taken to the Colobane headquarters where he is said to be held in “preventive” custody.

Karim was a senior minister during his father Abdoulaye Wade's rule from 2000 to 2012, where he oversaw big infrastructure and energy projects.

Many believed he was being groomed for the presidency.

Mr Ly said the document contained 3,000 pages clearly justifying the origins of his client’s wealth and so was surprised by the judge’s order.

"We have the right and we will not allow the state to out manoeuvre us,” the lawyer told local radio.

A big crowd of mainly supporters of the former ruling party headed for the Wade family home to show their sympathy.

A judge in March gave Mr Wade a month to prepare "convincing" justification of his wealth, the deadline which expired Monday.

Karim is among nearly two dozen former senior government officials being probed by President Macky Sall's government for embezzling billions of dollars during ex-President Wade's 12 year-rule.

Those found guilty face between four and ten years imprisonment, court sources said.



**** From Bloomberg Businessweek; Wade, 44, is accused of owning majority stakes in a bank and at least two transportation companies including a 300 billion CFA francs ($589 million) stake in Aviation Handling Services SA, a Dakar-based aviation ground support enterprise, El Hadj Amadou Sall, his lawyer, said today in a phone interview.

Wade was known in Senegal as “superminister” for simultaneously holding the portfolios of energy, infrastructure, international cooperation, and urban planning until his father was defeated in 2012 elections. He also acted as financial adviser to his father, who assumed office in 2000. The Justice Ministry said that Karim Wade owns companies such as a local unit of Virgin Islands-based Dubai Port World Senegal Ltd., which runs Dakar’s container terminal, and the Banque Marocaine du Commerce Exterieur (BCE), or BMCE.He’s also accused of owning a bank that made deals with international partners to restructure the country’s ailing energy utility, Societe National d’Electricite de Senegal, or Senelec.


Offshore Companies

“The strategy of Karim Wade is to buy these franchises and have them managed by offshore companies,” the ministry said in an e-mailed document. “Key sectors of the economy are in the hands of off-shore companies and the investigators have established the link with Karim Wade.”

In November, Karim Wade was questioned by police and banned from leaving the country. A prosecutor for a special court set up to try crimes of illicit enrichment on March 15 accused Wade of acquiring assets in transportation and building companies and using members of his entourage such as his driver and secretary as fronts.

During his tenure, Senegal signed construction contracts including a 380 billion-CFA franc, 65-kilometer (40-mile) highway linking Dakar with a new airport outside the city that Wade also authorized.

Wade will have to explain untaxed deposits including 910 million francs in Senegalese banks, and two separate deposits of $2.7 million each to banks in Monaco, according to the Justice Ministry document. It also said Karim Wade has an “impressive” fleet of cars, including a Porsche and several luxury SUVs.