Tontine détournée : Ndeya Beauté écope d'une lourde peine de prison
Businesswoman Ndeye Fatou Diatta, also known as Ndeya Beauté, now knows her fate. Tried this Wednesday in the Dakar court for flagrant offenses for breach of trust involving 27 million CFA francs, she was sentenced to six months in prison.
Placed in pretrial detention on April 27, 2026, she admitted to the charges against her. The plaintiffs unanimously maintained that they had contributed without ever recovering their investment.
Among them, Niaba Baldé stated that she met Ndeya Beauté on the social media platform TikTok. The defendant had sent her a video explaining that she was managing a tontine (a type of savings and loan association) scheduled to begin on July 18, 2025, with an initial contribution of 375,000 FCFA. Subsequently, Ndeye Fatou Diatta postponed the start date to August, with contributions set at 500,000 FCFA every two weeks. Niaba claims to have contributed 2 million FCFA. However, when she asked to withdraw her initial investment, Ndeya refused, which led her to cease all contributions.
The defendant stated that she managed two rotating savings and credit associations (tontines): one was to last 6 months and 20 days, the other 13 months and 6 days. She claimed that three participants, including "Maman Vulgaire" and Adja, had recovered their investments.
When the judge questioned her about the whereabouts of the funds, Ndeya replied, “For the past five years, I’ve managed rotating savings and credit associations (ROSCAs). I’ve never had any problems. I encountered difficulties when they stopped contributing. Afterward, I contributed 12 million to a ROSCA so I wouldn’t have to use the money myself,” she stated. The presiding judge, however, reminded her that she had indicated during the investigation that she had used some of the money in her business.
"A certified tontine, supervised by the gendarmerie"
During the proceedings, one of the plaintiffs stated that, to convince her, Ndeya had assured her that the tontine was certified and overseen by the gendarmerie. She also told her that she would provide her identity document to be legalized at the gendarmerie in order to collect her contribution.
Talla Ndiaye, the only man among the plaintiffs, stated that he was abroad at the time of the events. He claims to have contributed 10 million FCFA. Part of this has been reimbursed, but he still owes 3,125,000 FCFA.
Seeking leniency from the court, Ndeya Beauté apologized to the plaintiffs:
"I apologize. I am not literate, which is why I did not manage my activities well. I beg you to release me so that I can repay," she said.
The plaintiffs demanded full reimbursement of their investments.
In his closing arguments, the public prosecutor asked the court to reclassify the charges from breach of trust to fraud, arguing that the defendant had never intended to return the funds. He requested a six-month prison sentence and a fine of one million CFA francs.
The defense, represented by lawyers Sayba Danfakha, Marème Dia Sylla, and Baba Diop, argued for leniency in the application of the penal code. According to Baba Diop, the 22 million FCFA reimbursement was made possible by generous individuals who had launched a fundraising campaign for his client. The lawyer also pointed out that the campaign had approximately one hundred participants, but only 15 plaintiffs appeared in court. Requesting her release, Diop stated he was convinced his client was capable of repaying the funds.
In its verdict, the court found Ndeye Fatou Diatta guilty of breach of trust and sentenced her to six months in prison. The judge also awarded the civil parties the sums they had claimed as compensation.
Commentaires (12)
Participer à la Discussion
Règles de la communauté :
💡 Astuce : Utilisez des emojis depuis votre téléphone ou le module emoji ci-dessous. Cliquez sur GIF pour ajouter un GIF animé. Collez un lien X/Twitter, TikTok ou Instagram pour l'afficher automatiquement.