Paris Court of Appeal: Bicec Loses CFA16.4 Billion Damages Claim

Banque internationale du Cameroun pour l’épargne et le crédit (Bicec) lost a CFA16.4 billion damages claim in France on January 29, 2026 (corrected February 24), when the Paris Court of Appeal rejected its claims against Unicontrol Commodity Cameroun (UCC) and Katoen Natie-Commodities BV. Bicec had sought CFA16.402 billion in damages, alleging losses tied to loans extended to three Cameroonian cocoa and coffee operators: Producam, Delta Industries International, and Argia. The core of the appellate court's decision rested on Bicec's failure to sufficiently establish that the alleged commodity losses, which formed the basis of its damages claim, directly resulted from failures on the part of UCC, the company responsible for monitoring the stocks used to secure the financing, or Katoen Natie-Commodities BV, which was jointly liable for the obligations of the third-party custodian. This ruling specifically addressed the liability of the stock monitoring and custodian entities, without determining the outstanding debt owed by the primary borrowers in Cameroon or releasing them from their obligations to Bicec.