MADAGASCAR: COMPANY ACCOUNTS LINKED TO FORMER PRESIDENT FROZEN AND EMPTIED
Three bank accounts belonging to INJET, a company associated with former Madagascar president Andry Rajoelina, were frozen, emptied, and reopened within hours last week, according to reporting from la1ere.francetvinfo.fr. By the time the accounts were unfrozen, all funds had disappeared from them.
Additional reference context is available at https://la1ere.francetvinfo.fr/mayotte/madagascar-les-comptes-de-la-societe-d-andry-rajoelina-saisis-et-vides-1736414.html.
The operation was reportedly carried out by the Agency for Recovery of Illicit Assets at the request of the Anti-Corruption Unit in Antananarivo. No official statement has been released to confirm these details, leaving significant questions about the scope and justification for the account seizure and the subsequent movement of funds.
INJET operates as a pioneer in advertising, digital printing, and large-format display services across Madagascar. The freezing of its accounts creates immediate operational challenges. Without access to its treasury, the company now faces potential difficulties meeting payroll obligations and covering social charges for its workforce.
Investigators appear to be pursuing a possible connection to the “school desks” affair, a matter involving suspected irregularities or misappropriation of funds in a procurement contract for school desks intended for Madagascar’s educational system. The contract was overseen when Marie Michelle Sahondrarimalala served as minister of national education. INJET has reportedly received neither a court summons nor any judicial notification regarding the account seizure, leaving the company’s management without formal notice of the investigation’s scope or basis.
The absence of official communication compounds the operational uncertainty. A company dependent on cash flow to maintain its workforce and meet financial obligations now operates with frozen access to its accounts and no clear timeline for resolution or restoration of funds. The infrastructure of the company’s operations, from payroll systems to vendor payments, depends on the restoration of normal banking access.
What changed: the speed of the freeze and subsequent reopening, combined with the complete emptying of funds, suggests a coordinated operation, yet the lack of public documentation leaves the operational and legal basis unclear to external observers. Questions remain about whether the account seizure represents a temporary investigative measure or a permanent asset recovery action.
For a company operating in Madagascar’s commercial sector, the disruption to normal cash management creates cascading risks. Employees depend on regular compensation; vendors and service providers rely on timely payment; and the company’s ability to fulfill client contracts depends on operational continuity. Until the accounts are restored or a formal legal process is established, INJET operates under severe financial constraint, with no indication yet of when, or whether, either condition will be met.