Two siblings are locked in a bitter court fight over the fortune of their dad, an African despot who died 13 years ago.
Omar Bongo was one of Africa’s longest-serving rulers as president of Gabon for 42 years.
When he died in June 2009, he divided his fortune amongst 53 heirs, including over 30 of his children.
But now, his 66-year-old daughter Pascaline Bongo has been accused of stealing the fortune and spending is lavishly on her life of luxury.
One of her siblings has rallied against her and accused her of siphoning money from the vast fortune and blowing it on jewellery, luxury vacations, yachts and private jets.
She also stands accused of then proceeding to lie and conceal the true size of his fortune to more than 50 heirs, mostly her siblings, all in an alleged attempt to cheat them out of the riches after she appointed herself executor of his will without consent.
In court documents filed by Yamilee Bongo-Astier and Sasha Bongo-Astier, one of Pascaline’s sisters and nieces who live in New York, they are demanding at least $50million (£41million) in lost inheritance.
The mother-daughter duo claim that Pascaline has refused to show her siblings the full extent of the will and that she has “transferred the assets” to herself, four others and two companies — who are all listed as defendants on the case, the court papers show.
Instead of accounting for the estate and distributing the assets, Pascaline used the money to “fund defendants’ extravagant lifestyles,” the suit claims.
The documents read: “Pascaline misrepresented to plaintiffs the nature of the assets in the estate, omitting valuable real property and other assets.
“She allegedly used the money to pay for private jets for personal travel, vacations, jewellery, luxury goods and homes for herself and her children, among others," The Times reported.
In an old interview with French newspaper Le Monde from 2015, Pascaline dismissed stories about her father’s wealth as “fantasies” and claimed he had given much of it away before his death.
Since the president’s heart attack in June 2009 legal battles have regularly flared up over his inheritance.
He was succeeded in controversial circumstances by his son who won in an election marred by rioting, evidence of vote rigging and the burning of parliament.
Pascaline, a former lover of Bob Marley, has been subject to a number of court battles.
One of them includes charges brought by a Swiss private jet charter company claiming an unpaid £66million bill for ferrying celebrities, and food, to the country.
One outstanding bill was reportedly for 100 tubs of Haagen-Dazs ice cream that was ordered in for a Star Wars screening at the presidential palace.
The Bongos have long denied allegations of embezzlement but despite Gabon’s oil wealth the money has rarely benefitted its two million citizens.
The Human Rights Foundation described the country as a “feudal state” who resources were exploited to fund the family’s decadent tastes.
Pascaline Bongo has yet to respond to the latest development.
