French wine giant Castel accused of financing rebels in CAR

French wine giant Castel has said it will investigate allegations that one of its subsidiaries paid rebels in the Central African Republic to protect its sugar operations in the country.

Filed by the UN corruption watchdog, The Sentry, the allegations concern an alleged “security arrangement” between the subsidiary of Castel Sucaf RCA and an armed group called the Union for Peace in Central Africa (UPC) .

The Sentry, an NGO specializing in tracking down illicit financing in conflict zones, said the agreement to provide security for a sugar refinery and cane fields dated from 2014 to March of this year.

“Sucaf RCA has set up a sophisticated and informal system of financing armed forces through direct and indirect cash payments as well as in-kind assistance in the form of vehicle maintenance and fuel supply” , said a report from The Sentry.

He added that the UPC has also helped protect the company’s sugar monopoly, seizing “contraband sugar, especially from Sudan” and repackaging it “quietly” as Sucar RCA sugar. , which was then sold to wholesalers.

Refusal
Sucaf RCA is a subsidiary of an agribusiness company called SOMDIAA, 87 percent owned by Castel, the fourth largest wine company in the world.

SOMDIAA denied the allegations, while Castel said it would open an “immediate investigation in accordance with its internal procedures”.

The Sucaf RCA refinery and its 5,137 hectare plantation are located some 400 kilometers east of the capital Bangui in a territory controlled by the UPC.

The alleged deal ended when the Central African army, backed by Russian paramilitaries, forced the UPC out of the area in March.

The Central African Republic has been in the throes of instability since a rebellion toppled former President François Bozizé in 2013.

(With AFP)