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Bamako, Mali | AFP | Mali’s Supreme Court has ordered the government to pay more than $48 million to a local military equipment firm, in a legal battle dating back to 2014 triggered by corruption allegations.
The World Bank and IMF froze aid to Mali that year over state dealings with the supplier Guo Star, and over a separate purchase of a $40 million presidential plane for leader Ibrahim Boubacar Keita.
Accusations over the tender process and overbilling tainted the deals.
The court said in a judgement made available on Monday that the state should pay Guo Star just over 25 billion CFA francs ($47 million, 38.2 million euros), representing the balance of the contract.
It also ordered the state to pay 600 million CFA francs in damages and interest.
A lawyer representing the firm said on Monday his client had “respected the contract signed”.
The state auditor had ordered the government in 2014 not to pay the supplier until enquiries into the corruption allegations were completed.
The separate case of the presidential plane remains under scrutiny by investigators.
