While he had already been questioned by investigators from the Anti-Corruption Unit (ULCC) regarding the 100 million gourdes corruption scandal at the BNC, Presidential Advisor Emmanuel Vertilaire is now invoking his status as a presidential advisor to suggest that the investigating judge cannot summon him. In a statement published Wednesday on his X account, Mr. Vertilaire asserts that procedural rules must be respected by the investigating magistrate.

Judge Benjamin Félismé is responsible for investigating the corruption case involving 100 million gourdes at the BNC, which implicates the former chairman of the board of the National Credit Bank and three members of the Transitional Presidential Council. While the investigating magistrate has not yet begun his inquiry, Presidential Advisor Emmanuel Vertilaire, against whom the ULCC has recommended initiating public action in this case, is already asserting his status as “president.”