Mbaye Diagne Case: His former brother-in-law charged with breach of trust

Ousmane Loum, 45, presented as the former brother-in-law of Senegalese international footballer Mbaye Diagne, was referred to the financial prosecutor’s office on Wednesday, May 21, 2026, following an investigation conducted by the Criminal Investigation Division (DIC). He is accused of alleged breach of trust involving 100 million CFA francs (about 152,000 euros), related to a failed real estate transaction in the Almadies neighborhood of Dakar. The financial prosecutor’s office has opened a judicial investigation and assigned the case to the panel of investigating judges.

Ousmane Loum is awaiting his appearance before the investigating magistrate after being referred by the prosecutor’s office. In 2023, according to the investigation’s findings, Mbaye Diagne had entrusted him with a mandate to acquire land in his name in Almadies, a residential area in the northwest of Dakar, and had handed him the full agreed price of 100 million CFA francs against receipts. The transaction reportedly never materialized.

Mbaye Diagne, born in 1991 in Dakar, is a striker currently under contract with the Turkish club Amed Sportif in the Turkish second division (1. Lig). He has 11 caps with the Senegal national team and 112 goals in Turkey across all divisions, including thirty in the Süper Lig during the 2018-2019 season with Galatasaray.

The version of the accused

Heard by investigators from the DIC, Ousmane Loum acknowledged receiving the funds while contesting the qualification of breach of trust. He stated that he only acted as an intermediary after being informed by a certain Babacar Thiam about the sale of the land and claims to have directly connected Mbaye Diagne with him regarding the financial arrangements. According to his account, the final agreed price would have been 260 million CFA francs, and he reportedly paid Babacar Thiam 86 million out of the 100 million received, keeping the balance for other purposes.

Asked to provide proof of the amounts paid to Babacar Thiam, Ousmane Loum only presented a receipt for 40 million CFA francs. He argued that the other payments were made without a written record. This lack of documentation fuels the investigators’ suspicions.

Ousmane Loum indicated that Babacar Thiam had left Senegal for Gambia. He also stated that the latter had given Mbaye Diagne a notification of allocation that later turned out to be a false document, a circumstance considered an aggravating factor in the investigation.

A case handled by the panel of investigating judges

Given the complexity of the financial flows and the seriousness of the alleged facts, the financial prosecutor’s office opted for a judicial investigation rather than direct correctional proceedings. This longer route allows the investigating magistrates to deepen the investigations, hear other witnesses, and search for Babacar Thiam, whose location in Gambia has not been independently verified by investigators.

The Almadies is one of the most sought-after real estate areas in Dakar, located at the northwest tip of the Cape Verde peninsula. Transactions for land there regularly reach several hundred million CFA francs, and the neighborhood has been mentioned in other recent judicial cases involving disputed real estate transactions, including a case involving the former mayor of Guédiawaye, Aliou Sall, which has been investigated by the financial judicial pool since 2025.