In Benin, an alleged corruption scandal is shaking the young political party Le Libéral. At its helm, Richard Boni Ouorou, a 49-year-old political scientist and entrepreneur who recently returned from exile in Canada to lead this political project, has been at the center of a high-profile political and judicial investigation since May 2025.
The party “Le Libéral” recently emerged on the Beninese political scene, positioning itself as a new political offering in line with the 2018 reform of the partisan system. Founded by Richard Boni Ouorou—a Beninese political analyst who built his career abroad before returning to the country—this movement generated considerable popular enthusiasm at its launch.
Its founding members submitted a creation file to the Ministry of the Interior in August 2024, in accordance with the amended charter of political parties from 2019. However, the administrative process proved to be long and demanding, as the ministry identified numerous deficiencies (an initial report of 65 pages of corrections was notified on September 26, 2024), requiring the promoters to submit a corrected file on October 25, 2024. Additional gaps (ten pages of remarks) were noted in December 2024, leading to further exchanges and working sessions.
Despite these obstacles, the party’s final file was approved in April 2025, allowing the issuance of a provisional receipt that officially recognized Le Libéral as a legally recognized political party. This administrative green light enabled the party to hold its constitutive congress on April 5, 2025, in Cotonou, marking the official entry of Le Libéral into the political arena. Richard Boni Ouorou’s party, claiming a liberal ideology as its name suggests, began positioning itself as an emerging political alternative in Benin.
Recent events triggering the scandal
It was during the final registration of the party—following the issuance of the provisional receipt—that the process descended into scandal. On May 15, 2025, Interior Minister Alassane Séïbou made a public statement in the media, asserting that illicit actions had been taken to facilitate the issuance of the receipt for the Le Libéral party in exchange for significant sums of money. Alerted in advance by “reliable sources,” the minister revealed that a corruption case involved two officials from his ministry and the party leader.
Specifically, an agent from the Directorate of Internal Affairs and Worship allegedly approached the party leader to offer “facilitation” of the file in exchange for money, an offer that the latter allegedly accepted. This agent then sought the complicity of a colleague from the Directorate of Political Parties and Electoral Affairs, promising them a reward in turn. Thus, the two officials allegedly received payments from the party leader in exchange for expedited processing of the file, according to the minister’s explanations.
Faced with the seriousness of these suspicions, the official reaction was immediate. Alassane Séïbou suspended the two implicated officials from their administrative duties and involved law enforcement. “I have promptly instructed the Director General of the Republican Police to arrest the individuals involved, as well as the alleged corruptor, and to activate the Economic and Financial Brigade to clarify the situation,” he announced, emphasizing that legal proceedings would follow. The Interior Minister framed his actions within the context of moralizing public life. He notably recalled that this case occurs as the partisan system reform aims to strengthen transparency and stressed that respect for legality and ethics must be the rule at all levels of administration.
Richard Boni Ouorou’s role in this affair
As the founding president of the Le Libéral party, Richard Boni Ouorou is at the heart of this case as the primary suspect on the civilian side. According to information communicated by the judiciary, he allegedly engaged in the disputed financial transaction with the public officials. The special prosecutor at the Court for the Repression of Economic Offenses and Terrorism (CRIET), Mario Mètonou, indicates that Mr. Ouorou allegedly promised a total of 12 million CFA francs to the two involved officials to ensure the completion of the registration file.
During preliminary investigations, the businessman allegedly admitted to having already paid 7 million CFA in several installments to the officials in question. According to the reported details, an initial payment of approximately 1 million CFA was made before the April 5, 2025 congress, followed by two successive payments of 3 million each on April 26 and 28, 2025. These funds allegedly transited to the director of Political Parties and Electoral Affairs at the ministry through the second intermediary official.
However, versions differ regarding the exact amount paid. The implicated director of Political Parties allegedly told investigators that he had received “only” 5 million CFA, not 7 million, according to the prosecutor. Despite these discrepancies, the facts reported by the prosecution are analyzed as an offense of public agent corruption under the Beninese penal code. Richard Boni Ouorou, for his part, denies committing corruption. While he admits to giving money to the agents, he denies that it was to buy a service. According to his lawyer, “Mr. Ouorou never gave money to obtain any service. The funds were paid after obtaining the provisional receipt,” he asserts, arguing that the timing excludes the qualification of corruption.
In short, Mr. Ouorou’s defense argues that no illegal payment was made to obtain the receipt—suggesting that these could be subsequent transactions without a causal link to the issuance of the official document.
Official positions
On the side of the Beninese authorities, the position appears rigorous and firm. Zero tolerance is displayed towards corruption in the party registration process. Special prosecutor Mario Mètonou publicly detailed the allegations, confirming that sums of money were indeed agreed upon and paid to public officials in exchange for the provisional receipt of the Le Libéral party. The three accused (Richard Boni Ouorou and the two officials) have been indicted for “corruption of a public official,” a serious offense.
The public prosecutor’s office has therefore requested their provisional detention during the investigation, a request followed by the judge of liberties in view of the presented elements. For Mario Mètonou, special prosecutor of the CRIET, these acts are punishable by the Penal Code and subject to heavy penalties ranging from 5 to 10 years of criminal imprisonment.
Richard Boni Ouorou’s defense, for its part, reacted vigorously in the media. A few hours after the announcement of his indictment and provisional detention, his lawyers displayed their determination to secure his release. Me Yssaine Yovogan, a member of the defense team, expressed his astonishment at the turn of events. He described as “surprising” the investigating judge’s decision to place his client under a detention order, believing that they had instead hoped for a release at this stage. According to him, “the charges are not founded,” and the constitutive elements of the offense would not be met, making the provisional detention unjustified.
The lawyer particularly emphasizes that all co-accused would have agreed that Richard Boni Ouorou is not directly involved in an act of corruption, an element that, according to the defense, should work in his favor. The collective of lawyers promises to mobilize all legal avenues to obtain the release of the political scientist, insisting that “the offense is not legally constituted” according to their analysis of the case.
Political and legal implications
The political shockwave of this affair is not negligible for the young Le Libéral party. The arrest and subsequent incarceration of Richard Boni Ouorou, the central figure and driving force behind this movement, have dealt a brutal blow to the momentum he had begun to generate. While Le Libéral “had just begun to position itself as an alternative in the Beninese partisan landscape,” its immediate future is now suspended pending upcoming judicial decisions. Without its leader free to act, the party will struggle to exist in the political arena. Mobilization and structuring activities are de facto paralyzed. This situation could potentially prevent Le Libéral from effectively participating in the next electoral deadlines (such as the 2026 general elections), unless there is a rapid judicial resolution in favor of Mr. Ouorou. The party’s image also suffers, as the affair casts a shadow over the discourse of renewal and probity that Richard Boni Ouorou had championed until now.
On a strictly judicial level, the stakes are equally high for the protagonists. The alleged acts—active corruption of officials—are classified as a crime by the penal code. Beninese law provides for a criminal imprisonment sentence of 5 to 10 years for this type of offense, along with heavy fines and possible confiscation of illegally paid sums. If Richard Boni Ouorou and his co-accused were found guilty at the end of a trial, they could potentially face up to a decade in prison, which would durably seal the political fate of the leader of Le Libéral. Furthermore, a conviction for corruption could be accompanied by a potential forfeiture of his civic rights, according to applicable legal provisions, preventing the individual from seeking elective office for a certain period—although this point will depend on the precise verdict.
For now, however, we are not there yet. The case is still at the investigation stage and has not yet been judged on its merits. The file has been entrusted to the Instruction Commission of the CRIET, which continues the investigations to gather the necessary evidence. Two outcomes are possible at the end of the investigation: either a referral to the judgment chamber of the CRIET to be tried, or a dismissal if the judge deems the charges insufficiently supported.
In this waiting period, no trial date has been announced at this stage. Richard Boni Ouorou, along with the two co-accused officials, remain in provisional detention at the Missérété civil prison, in accordance with the order of the judge of liberties dated May 22, 2025. Their detention could last for many months, or even more than a year, given the complexity of the case, unless there is a notable development (such as provisional release under conditions, for example, if the defense manages to obtain it in a subsequent request).
While awaiting the judicial outcome, the political implications remain speculative but potentially significant. This case sends a strong message to Beninese political actors about the risks of any illegal arrangement: the creation of a party, governed by strict rules, cannot tolerate monetized favors. If the facts are proven, this would validate the government’s strategy against corruption, but at the cost of lasting discredit cast on a new political actor who presented itself as a vector of change. Conversely, if Richard Boni Ouorou were to be cleared (by a dismissal or acquittal), this would raise the question of possible instrumentalization or excessive zeal in the application of the rules. In any case, the case of the Le Libéral party will undoubtedly set a precedent in public opinion: it reminds other emerging formations that transparency and ethics must prevail in their endeavors, under penalty of exemplary sanctions.
Chronology of main events
- August 2, 2024 – Submission of the creation file for the Le Libéral party to the Ministry of the Interior by the founders. The file is registered under number 5544 and examined in accordance with the 2018 law on political parties.
- September 26, 2024 – The ministry officially notifies the party promoters of major deficiencies in their file (no less than 65 pages of observations) that they must correct to obtain the receipt.
- October 25, 2024 – Le Libéral submits a corrected file to the Ministry of the Interior, after attempting to respond point by point to the initial 65 pages of observations.
- December 2024 – New evaluation by the ministry: ten additional pages of deficiencies are noted despite the corrections made. Working sessions and exchanges continue between the administration and the party leaders to finalize the file.
- April 2025 – The final file is deemed compliant with legal requirements. The ministry issues a provisional receipt to Le Libéral, which thus becomes an officially registered party (subject to subsequent final registration).
- April 5, 2025 – Le Libéral organizes its constitutive congress in Cotonou, taking advantage of the provisional receipt to publicly launch its political activities. Richard Boni Ouorou appears as the leader of a newly legally recognized party.
- April 26 and 28, 2025 – Payment of two sums of 3 million CFA each by Richard Boni Ouorou to one of the officials of the Ministry of the Interior, according to his own statements during the investigation. These payments—preceded by an initial payment of 1 million before the congress—would have been made with the aim of facilitating the completion of the party’s file. (These facts are those that will later be qualified as presumed corruption by the prosecution.)
- May 15, 2025 (morning) – Alassane Séïbou, Minister of the Interior, publicly reveals that an internal investigation has uncovered fraudulent actions surrounding the registration of the Le Libéral party. He mentions money payments in exchange for accelerating the procedure and announces that he has referred the matter to justice. On the same day, he suspends two officials from his ministry suspected of involvement and alerts the Economic and Financial Brigade (specialized police).
- May 15, 2025 (afternoon) – Arrest of Richard Boni Ouorou in Cotonou by the Republican Police (Economic and Financial Brigade), as well as the arrest of several members of his close team for investigation purposes. The two implicated ministry officials are also apprehended as part of the same case, in accordance with the instructions of the Minister of the Interior.
- May 16, 2025 – Search conducted by the police at the home and offices of Richard Boni Ouorou in Abomey-Calavi. Documents and computer equipment likely to shed light on the case are seized. On the same day, after questioning, all party leaders arrested the day before are released, except for Mr. Ouorou himself, who is kept in custody given the seriousness of the alleged facts.
- End of the week of May 15–17, 2025 – A businessman close to Richard Boni Ouorou is in turn cited in the investigation and arrested at the end of the week. His exact role has not yet been elucidated, but his detention fuels speculation about the extent of a possible network involved in the case.
- May 21, 2025 (afternoon) – Transfer of Richard Boni Ouorou to the CRIET (Court for the Repression of Economic Offenses and Terrorism) in Porto-Novo. He is taken, handcuffed, to the premises of the special prosecutor’s office of the CRIET in the early afternoon, accompanied by his lawyers, to be presented to the special prosecutor Mario Mètonou. Two officials from the Ministry of the Interior (the director of Political Parties and his colleague from Internal Affairs) also appear, being implicated in the same procedure.
- May 21, 2025 (night) – Lengthy hearing at the CRIET: the three accused are heard successively by the prosecutor and then by an investigating judge. In the late evening, the investigating judge formally indicts Richard Boni Ouorou and the two officials for corruption of a public official, considering that there is serious evidence of guilt. This formal indictment paves the way for provisional detention pending future decisions.
- May 22, 2025 (around 3 a.m.) – Decision on provisional detention: following a night hearing, the judge of liberties and detention of the CRIET orders the imprisonment of Richard Boni Ouorou and his two co-accused. The decision is made just before dawn, after the defense’s pleas (which requested release) and the prosecutor’s requisitions (which requested the opposite). Richard Boni Ouorou is incarcerated in the high-security prison of Missérété, along with the director of Political Parties and the official from Internal Affairs, now detained awaiting their trial.
- Since May 22, 2025 – Ongoing investigation: the case continues before the CRIET. No trial date has been set to date, as the in-depth investigation phase continues to gather all the evidence. Richard Boni Ouorou and his co-accused remain in provisional detention during this time. His lawyers have initiated legal proceedings to attempt to obtain his provisional release, arguing the contestable nature of the charges, but in the absence of notable progress, the leader of the Le Libéral party remains incarcerated pending the final decision of the Beninese justice system.