The former head of French oil giant Elf, Loik Le Floch-Prigent, has been charged with accessory to fraud in Togo after being extradited to the west African nation, his lawyer said Tuesday. The former Elf chief executive was questioned on Monday for about three hours by a Togolese judge who handed down the charge following his lightning-fast extradition from Ivory Coast over the weekend.
His legal team had initially condemned the international transfer, which came the day after his arrest in the Ivorian economic capital Abidjan on Friday as he tried to board an Air France flight to Paris. His lawyer in France, Patrick Klugman, has since backed off earlier harsh comments on the extradition and said "we are reassured by the care taken by the Togolese authorities in handling this matter."
He added that Le Floch-Prigent had access to his lawyer in Togo as well as French consular assistance. A spokesman for France's foreign ministry, Philippe Lalliot, said the transfer was carried out as part of a police co-operation agreement under the 15-nation Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which includes Ivory Coast and Togo. The Togolese hearing was expected to resume later, possibly on Tuesday. Le Floch-Prigent is being held in an office at the gendarmerie and has not entered a plea but his lawyers have said their client is innocent.
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