Water into wine? How about turning rubles into dollars.

A Moscow court heard that Hans Tabi Takang, a Cameroonian conjurer who has lived in Russia for 12 years, swindled his victims of around two million rubles (around €20,000), the state-owned Kommersant outlet reported.

In one case, the self-proclaimed magician deceived a woman whom he had convinced he could turn paper or rubles into U.S. dollars via a “special ritual.”

“To turn paper into money, you take a 5,000-ruble note, wash it with a special powder mixed with water, then use that liquid to spray the cash inside a suitcase, wrap the money in foil for some time, and after these steps, the bills are supposed to turn into $100 notes,” the woman said Tabi Takang told her.

After the woman handed over 500,000 rubles to Tabi Takang, the mendacious magic man took off with the money.

According to Kommersant, Tabi Takang said he understood the charges and admitted his guilt.

In a second case, Tabi Takang claimed he would collect special pieces of paper sent by his mother from Cameroon, ​​which he would transform into dollars after a “witchcraft ritual.”

The Russian ruble has been on a rollercoaster ride following sweeping economic sanctions enacted by the West after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

However, the ruble has recently become the world’s top-performing currency, according to Bank of America, owing to U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war and its impact on the dollar, along with the Russian central bank’s high interest rates and strict capital controls.

Source: Politico.EU

At least four separatist fighters were killed early Monday in a military offensive in the Northwest, according to the Francophone dominated government in Yaounde.

Government forces launched a coordinated attack on the separatist fighters in the Below Foncha neighborhood of Bamenda, the region’s chief town, a security official said.

“They (separatist fighters) had come out from their hiding to terrorize civilians. Having received a tip-off, our brave soldiers launched an attack on them. We will continue to clear the city of these threats,” the official, who asked not to be named said.

Additional troops have been deployed to the region ahead of the country’s scheduled presidential election in October, according to security sources.

An armed conflict between separatist fighters and government forces has been ongoing in Cameroon’s two English-speaking regions of Northwest and Southwest since 2017, with separatists seeking to create an independent state.

Source: Xinhuanet

At least four people have died following torrential rains in Cameroon’s mountainous region of Adamawa, an official said Saturday.

Several days of torrential downpours in the region’s chief town of Ngaoundere triggered a sudden surge in the water level downstream of a local lake, damaging infrastructure and leaving some residents trapped, according to Valeri Norbert Kuela, prefect of the Vina division of the region.

“People construct houses in swampy areas and when it rains, they are easily affected by floods. Unfortunately, this time we have lost lives. We are intensifying efforts to redress the situation,” Kuela said.

Cameroon’s meteorological center has issued a warning of “continuing turbulent weather,” predicting that heavy rains accompanied by strong winds will persist in most parts of the country.

Source: Xinhuanet

Finance minister, Louis Paul Motaze, asserts that his department is not authorized to audit the accounts of the country’s football federation (FECAFOOT). This comes amidst allegations of misappropriation concerning FECAFOOT’s funds.

Briefed by various deputies on the financial situation of the Cameroonian Football Federation (FECAFOOT) and the surrounding suspicions of misappropriation, the Cameroonian Finance Minister, Louis Paul Motaze, clarified the extent of his department’s jurisdiction over this body.

According to the account of his hearing before the finance and budget committee in the context of defending the reinsurance bill, the Minister stated that “the department under my charge is not qualified to audit the accounts of FECAFOOT.”

However, Louis Paul Motaze did specify that an accounts officer from the ministry, assigned to FECAFOOT, provides specific oversight. “He updates information about the subsidies paid by the government,” said the minister.

Deputies were particularly questioning the absence of an official audit of the Federation’s accounts and the veracity of information circulating on social media, which suggested that funds received from the Cameroon-Russia friendly match might have been deposited into a personal account of Samuel Eto’o, President of FECAFOOT.

In response to these allegations, Louis Paul Motaze expressed caution. “I am wary of comments reported on social media,” he told lawmakers.

For several days, whistleblowers have been raising the issue of several hundred million FCFA transfers made into the FECAFOOT president’s personal account in the context of friendly matches against Russia, Mexico, and Azerbaijan.

In an official statement, FECAFOOT confirmed the authenticity of the bank documents that had leaked on social media. However, the body denied any misappropriation, explaining that Samuel Eto’o was acting on a mandate from the Executive Committee, which had authorized him to directly receive these funds.

Source: Business in Cameroon