Affaire AEE Power contre ASER : Le bâtonnier blanchit Seydou Kane et dévoile « le nerf de la guerre »
Faced with what he calls a "media onslaught" and a smear campaign orchestrated over several months, the president of the Bar Association, Leity Ndiaye, spoke out on Tuesday, May 5. Alongside his colleagues, he defended businessman Seydou Kane, a central figure in the dispute between AEE Power Senegal and the Senegalese Rural Electrification Agency (ASER).
According to the head of the Senegalese bar association, his client is the victim of a fabricated dispute. While Mr. Ndiaye reiterated that the disagreements should be resolved by the competent courts, he deemed it necessary to "set the record straight" for the public. "This is not about creating controversy, but about providing accurate information," he insisted, denouncing a clear attempt to shift responsibility.
The "decisive" role of Seydou Kane
The heart of the demonstration lies in the role of Seydou Kane in this rural electrification project. A Senegalese businessman based in Spain, he initiated this ambitious program, which initially targeted 922 localities before being expanded to 1,600 villages (Kaffrine, Kolda, Saint-Louis, Tambacounda, and Kédougou). The project was designed in strict compliance with the rules governing unsolicited bids under the Public Procurement Code.
According to the Bar Association, Seydou Kane was the driving force behind the case: from the technical design to the mobilization of financing from a Spanish bank, whose Africa manager had officially praised his key role.
"The sinews of war": 36 billion CFA francs
The dispute arose during the financing phase. The Spanish partners insisted on a locally incorporated company, and a memorandum of understanding was signed in November 2023 with AEE Power EPC Spain. The contract stipulated that AEE Power Senegal would carry out 60% of the work.
This is where the crux of the problem lies. The project, estimated at €140 million, included a 40% advance payment. In March 2024, over 36 billion CFA francs was released. However, according to Mr. Ndiaye, upon receiving the funds, the Spanish company adopted a "dilatory" approach, refusing to pay the Senegalese side its contractual share (approximately €40 million).
After a formal notice was sent on June 18, 2024, the foreign company unilaterally terminated the contract three days later. The defense argues that the maneuver is clear: to oust the Senegalese partner and seize all the funding.
Clarification on the Intermaq and Passante cases
Attorney Leity Ndiaye also dismissed the other accusations against his client. Regarding the Intermaq case, he clarified that while Seydou Kane is the majority shareholder, the company was not a signatory to the public contract in question, which was awarded to a Spanish entity. No financial funds were allegedly transferred to him personally.
Regarding the Passante project, the lawyer emphasizes that his client only holds 20% of the capital and plays no operational role. On the contrary, Seydou Kane reportedly injected 237 million CFA francs of his own funds to save the business and jobs.
“Seydou Kane is a victim.”
In conclusion, the Bar Association president posed a question that remained unanswered: "Where did the start-up advance go in the AEE Power case?"
Following him, Mr. El Hadji Amadou Sall condemned the "brutality" of the attacks suffered by their client. "It was in front of public opinion that we were attacked, and it is therefore before the public that we come to set the record straight," he concluded, determined to establish "the exact facts."
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