The Cameroonian state and the Atou firm are fighting a fierce battle in the case of alleged embezzlement of public funds at the Autonomous Port of Douala (PAD), under investigation at the Special Criminal Court (TCS) in Yaoundé. At the heart of this dispute is the control of the management of the assets of three former state corporations

These are the Cameroon National Ports Office (ONPC, predecessor of PAD), the National Commodity Marketing Office (ONCPB) and the Cameroon National Railways Board (RNCF or Regifercam). The combined assets of these three entities are estimated at around one hundred billion FCFA. The TCS investigation was, in fact, initiated following a denunciation by Lazare Atou from the eponymous firm, which has been managing the assets of these former state-owned companies for about ten years already. This denunciation would be made at a time when the management of the assets of the former ONPC, ONCPB and Regifercam, which has fuelled speckled battles within the Seraglio and has severely tested government solidarity for more than a decade, is taking a new turn. Indeed, on 2 June 2021, the Minister of State, Secretary General of the Presidency of the Republic (SG/PR), Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh, notified the CEO of the PAD of the agreement of the President of the Republic to initiate, without delay, procedures for the return of residual assets from the