On February 26, Cameroon’s Caisse de Dépôts et de Consignations (CDEC) issued two payment orders to BGFIBank Cameroon and Orange Money Cameroon. According to sources cited by Business in Cameroon, the institution is seeking CFA3.68 billion, including CFA3.58 billion in principal and CFA101 million in late-payment interest.
The CDEC has given the two institutions eight days to comply. If they fail to do so, it says it may proceed with asset seizures, including bank accounts, securities, or movable property.
The claim relates to funds owed “under joint liability with Afriland First Bank,” which had issued guarantees for a public contract awarded to BOFAS Sarl. The contract, signed in 2022, covered rehabilitation work on the Babajou–Bamenda road, specifically section 3 of the Bamenda Up-Hill Station Bypass, a 4.93-kilometer stretch in the Northwest region.
As part of the project, the state paid the contractor an advance of more than CFA2.8 billion. That advance was secured through a refund guarantee issued by Afriland First Bank on August 12, 2022. In its letter at the time, the bank committed to “irrevocably pay the beneficiary any sum up to the guarantee amount,” set at CFA2,864,569,370.
BOFAS Default
BOFAS also provided a personal and joint guarantee of CFA1.4 billion, also issued by Afriland. Together, the guarantees represented roughly CFA4.265 billion. Afriland reportedly set aside CFA900 million as a provision to cover part of the risk.
The situation escalated on February 26, 2024, when the Minister of Public Works, Emmanuel Nganou Djoumessi, terminated the contract “at the company’s expense and risk,” citing contractor default. The contract—awarded through a direct agreement without a tender process—was valued at CFA14.32 billion and scheduled to run for 15 months.
Following the termination, the guarantees were expected to be called in to reimburse the state for the advance payment and cover damages. However, both BOFAS and its guarantor Afriland were reportedly reluctant to repay the advance guarantee and the performance bond.
This prompted CDEC to step in with a forced recovery procedure. The process has expanded beyond the original guarantor, Afriland, to involve third-party financial institutions—BGFIBank, Orange Money Cameroon, and indirectly the Société Commerciale de Banque Cameroun (SCB Cameroon).
Why BGFIBank and Orange Money Are Targeted
CDEC bases its action on a 2023 law governing public guarantees and debt recovery for entities benefiting from the Treasury privilege, a mechanism that gives the state priority in recovering certain debts.
Article 49 states that any institution holding or managing funds belonging to a debtor covered by the Treasury privilege must, upon receiving a formal third-party notice, transfer those funds directly to the state. In effect, the notice requires the third party to pay in place of the debtor.
Article 17 further specifies that any refusal to comply with such an order creates joint liability for the third-party holder. In other words, the third party can be pursued as if it were the debtor itself.
Under this interpretation, the amounts now claimed by CDEC correspond to funds belonging to Afriland that are reportedly held in accounts at BGFIBank and Orange Money. The two institutions are therefore targeted as third-party holders rather than original debtors in the contract.
From CDEC’s perspective, failure to comply with the payment orders could expose them to joint liability on the grounds that they held—without transferring—funds tied to Afriland and linked to the guarantees associated with the disputed public contract.
Legal Maneuvers
Afriland First Bank has also initiated legal action. It filed a summary proceeding against Orange Money Cameroon and BGFIBank, with SCB Cameroon called in as a third party, before the president of the Court of First Instance in Yaoundé Administrative Center. The goal was to suspend the effects of the third-party notice issued by CDEC.
After hearing arguments on December 3, 2025, the judge ruled—under order No. 887/D/HH—that the court lacked jurisdiction to halt the effects of the notices issued by CDEC. Despite the ruling, Afriland First Bank subsequently filed a request seeking to suspend enforcement of the order.
Citing Article 43 of the Treasury privilege law, which states that seizures can proceed “notwithstanding opposition,” CDEC has continued its recovery actions, including measures targeting third-party holders such as BGFIBank and Orange Money.
The Case of SCB
SCB Cameroon, controlled by Morocco’s Attijariwafa Bank group, filed an administrative appeal after depositing a guarantee equal to 10% of the disputed amounts. According to a source close to the case, this move temporarily suspended the proceedings against the bank.
BOFAS has separately challenged the termination of its contract before an administrative court. In decision No. 12/OSE/CAB/PTA/2025 dated March 20, 2025, the judge ordered the suspension of any attempt by the Ministry of Public Works to mobilize the guarantees.
However, CDEC argues that this suspension does not apply to its own actions, since it was not a party to that legal proceeding and is now the entity responsible for holding and managing this category of funds.
In CDEC’s interpretation of the 2023 law, the framework governing public guarantees has shifted. Failure to honor guarantee obligations in public contracts now falls under a more operational recovery system led by the institution. In this framework, third parties holding the relevant funds may be held jointly liable during enforcement proceedings if legal obligations are not met.
Amina Malloum