Former DST chief to Echourouk: French companies like Areva paid ransoms to terrorists

In a lengthy interview made to Echourouk the former head of the French DST( Directorate of Territorial Surveillance) Former DST chief to Echourouk: French companies like Areva paid ransoms to terrorists Yev_335812442

Former DST chief to Echourouk: French companies like Areva paid ransoms to terrorists Yev_335812442

Yves Bonnet asserted that several companies have paid ransoms to terrorist groups citing the example of the giant energy group Areva noting that the transactions are brokered by international intermediaries.

These declarations follow those made by the former US ambassador to Mali Vicki Hedelston who revealed that European countries have paid $ 89 million to terrorist groups in the Sahel region.

He said not knowing personally the US official neither have further data abut her but asserted that huge sums of money were paid to terrorist in exchange for the liberation of hostages, considering this act as means to finance terrorism.

He dwelt on the case of the French company, Areva, that paid terrorists to free its employees otherwise it will not find the appropriate workforce for the extraction of Uranium in Niger. He went on saying that the company resorted to Intermediaries for the transactions keeping away the French government.

Yves Bonnet later said that the French authorities’ position over the payment of ransoms is quite clear as they refuse categorically to deal with the terrorists as mentioned by the French defence minister Jean Yves Le Drian.

Replying to a question over the US official’s declarations, Bonnet has indicated that those were made in an inappropriate timing but, he added, Hedelston relied on intelligence collected by the Central Intelligence Agency ( CIA) and reflect the divergences between the French and the US positions over this issue.

As to the Malian crisis, Bonnet went on saying that the solution should pass through dialogue noting that some parties could be included in the process, referring to the Azawad; by contrast, others should be excluded like the groups affiliated with the AQIM.