Sonia Rolland: the ex-Miss France indicted because of a generous gift with fraudulent liabilities

Sonia Rolland is in the sights of justice. The former Miss France is at the center of a case of “ill-gotten gains” and this one has been indictment by an examining magistrate, as revealed by Le Parisien on Tuesday, May 31. The facts date back to 2003 when she acquired a Parisian apartment which was offered to her by Omar Bongo. The latter, president of Gabon from 1967 to his death in 2009, was himself in the sights of justice following the revelations of the newspaper Le Monde only a year before his death. Indeed, there are more than 33 properties in France, acquired by Omar Bongo and his entourage, for a total value of 150 million euroswhich would have been financed with embezzled public money. Information taken very seriously by the investigators, in particular since one of them would have been offered to Sonia Rolland. A property which was not yet built, which was acquired off-plan for 640,000 euros and delivered a few years later, in 2006.

In January 2021, Sonia Rolland is heard by the courts. “After my crown of Miss France and by my African origins, I have been requested by many African countries French-speaking people, including Gabon to come and participate in the creation of Miss Gabon”, she first explained before adding: “It was on this occasion in 2001 that I met Edith Bongo, the wife of President Bongo and that we forged ties of friendship. Subsequently, I also met the late President Omar Bongo“. She had also mentioned a “youthful mistake” and it was his lawyer, Charles Morel, who then spoke: “My client was 22 years old, she was coming out of a period where she was projected into a universe of which she knew nothing. She explained in detail about the conditions for obtaining this gift that she did not request“, reports the Parisian before specifying: “She admits to having been naive, but disputes any infringement“. For her part, Sonia Rolland assured that she does not “didn’t know the method of financing and I wasn’t interested in it, I had heard of the Elf affair, but I hadn’t made the connection, and I did not know that the Bongo family had acquired so many properties in France“, she justified herself.

Sonia Rolland: did she react to her indictment?

For the investigating judge, the clues and evidence were sufficient to indict Sonia Rolland for “concealment of embezzlement of public funds, corruption and abuse of corporate assets“. For its part, the main concern would be “serene and have no doubt that she will be exonerated at the end of the investigation“, assured his lawyer before recalling that his client has “had, at any time, knowledge of the origin of the funds, nor of the financial arrangement, she trusted the notary completely“, concluded Charles Morel.

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