Benin – Criet: the actress Aurélie Guézo released on bail
Pursued before the CRIET for alleged cybercrime-related offenses, Beninese actress Aurélie Guézo appeared on Thursday, January 22, 2026, at the opening of a second hearing in her trial. At the end of the proceedings, the special court ordered her provisional release on bail.
SUMMARY
The actress Aurélie Guézo temporarily regains her freedom. Following the hearing on Thursday, January 22, 2026, the Criminal Chamber of the Court for the Repression of Economic and Terrorist Offenses (CRIET) granted the defense’s request for provisional release. A bail of one million CFA francs was set for this purpose.
At the opening of the hearing, the judge reminded the defendant of the charges against her. Besides the alleged purchase of a SIM card for the benefit of a man in detention, cybercriminal data would have been found on her mobile phone. These elements the Court considers sufficiently serious to base the ongoing prosecutions.
Facing the court, Aurélie Guézo challenged any conscious involvement in cybercrime. The actress explained that her phone is also used by her nephew, who stayed by her side during the preparation of his baccalaureate. She insisted, above all, on her illiteracy in French, claiming she only communicates via voice messages on WhatsApp. “I never went to school. I don’t know how to write. It’s my nephew who writes the messages,” she told the bench, according to Libre Express.
A defense centered on the absence of fraudulent intent
Regarding the SIM card bought from a detainee, the defendant said she was unaware of any fraudulent use that could have been made of it. She also claimed to have taken the initiative to deactivate the said card as soon as she suspected its use.
After his client’s testimony, her lawyer, Me Omer Sylvain Tchiakpè, asked the Court for provisional release with a bail. The defense argued for the actress’s standing and, above all, the absence of intentional elements characterizing the charged offense.
To back up his request, the lawyer pointed out several shortcomings in the file, notably the lack of evidence of money transfers via the incriminated SIM, no exchanges between his client and the SIM user for fraud, no proof of any financial payoff to the defendant, and the absence of messages sent to victims seeking deposits of money.
The public prosecutor, represented by the fourth deputy special prosecutor at CRIET, voiced support for provisional release. He proposed a bail set at five hundred thousand CFA francs.
Ruling on the spot, the Criminal Chamber finally granted Aurélie Guézo provisional release, increasing the bail to one million CFA francs. The case was adjourned to Thursday, March 26, 2026, for the next steps of the proceedings, according to information reported by Libre Express.
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