A major financial scandal is shaking Senegal’s rapidly growing tech sector after the treasurer at fintech company Intech Group was arrested for allegedly embezzling over 298 million CFA francs (approx. €455,000) over four years.
The case is not an isolated incident. It comes on the heels of another fraud case at the state’s digital agency, Sénégal Numérique SA, exposing systemic vulnerabilities in internal controls that experts say could spook investors and tarnish the reputation of one of West Africa’s most promising tech hubs.
The €455k Heist with a ‘Replay’ Button
At Intech Group, a company that designs digital solutions and aggregates payment methods across West Africa, treasurer Cheikh Mbacké Thiam allegedly orchestrated a simple but devastatingly effective fraud. According to court documents, Thiam, who had been with the company since 2019, exploited a feature in the company’s proprietary software, Intech API.
The platform, which centralises operations from Senegal, Benin, Mali, and Ivory Coast, apparently allowed him to find and “replay” old, already validated transactions. With a single click, he could re-initiate deposits that had already been successfully sent to their beneficiaries, redirecting the funds to four of his personal mobile money accounts on platforms like Wave and Orange Money, and those of an accomplice, believed to be his younger brother in Ivory Coast. Intech was founded in 2019 by Mouhamet Mbow.
The scheme unravelled in May 2025 when an internal financial analyst flagged suspicious transfers. When confronted by management on June 2, Thiam reportedly admitted to the fraud. He made an immediate partial repayment of 85.5 million CFA (approx. €130,000) in cash and handed over two vehicles — a Kia Sportage and a Renault Arkana — valued at a combined 21 million CFA (approx. €32,000).
He promised to return the outstanding 189.5 million CFA (approx. €289,000) but never did. After Intech Group filed a formal complaint, authorities issued an order to prevent him from leaving the country. The measure proved prescient: Thiam was arrested by the Criminal Investigation Division (DIC) at Blaise Diagne International Airport as he attempted to board a flight out of Senegal.
A Pattern of Abuse
The Intech Group case mirrors another recent scandal at Sénégal Numérique SA (formerly ADIE), a public company responsible for the state’s digital infrastructure. There, a social media manager, Serigne Saliou Ndiaye, embezzled over 46.4 million CFA (approx. €70,000) over 18 months.
His method was different but relied on the same principle: exploiting privileged access. Ndiaye allegedly saved the company’s corporate bank card details on his personal computer and used them to make fraudulent transactions, including funding his personal e-commerce businesses. He later told investigators that his official salary of 440,000 CFA (approx. €670) a month was “insufficient.”
While the amounts differ, the profiles of the alleged perpetrators are strikingly similar. Both were trusted employees in positions with access to financial systems, who operated undetected for extended periods due to glaring gaps in corporate governance.
Trust Over Procedure: Cracks in Corporate Governance
The two cases reveal that as Senegal’s tech ecosystem scales, corporate governance practices are failing to keep pace. The core of the problem appears to be an over-reliance on personal trust rather than robust, formal procedures.
At Intech Group, the concentration of financial power in the hands of the treasurer created a blind spot that was exploited for four years. Key controls, such as a dual-signature requirement for transactions or regular, independent audits, were seemingly absent.
Similarly, at Sénégal Numérique SA, the lack of separation between the person authorising payments and the one making them allowed a single employee to manage an entire budget line without oversight.
These structural weaknesses create zones of impunity for “insiders” who have an intimate knowledge of company processes. For a startup ecosystem eager to attract international capital, these governance failures represent a significant risk.
The immediate financial losses are significant, potentially compromising cash flow, stalling investments, and affecting jobs at the companies involved. However, the long-term reputational damage to the wider ecosystem could be far more costly.