SEOUL: South Korean police are investigating the Central African Republic’s sports minister over unspecified fraud allegations, authorities in Seoul said Thursday.
Aristide Briand Reboas had travelled to the country at the invitation of the International Youth Fellowship, a Christian organisation, according to South Korea’s foreign ministry.
He was questioned over the allegations Saturday at a police station in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province — about 30 kilometres southeast of the capital — an official at the National Police Agency told AFP.
The alleged victim is a South Korean national, an officer overseeing the case in Gwangju said. No further details have been released.
The minister showed up for questioning at the request of authorities and was dismissed the same day, the officer said, adding Reboas would be summoned again.
Several news outlets in the Central African Republic have claimed the minister is wanted for debts and unpaid bills worth about $500,000 in total.
South Korean authorities declined to confirm those claims but said Reboas had been labeled by the country’s immigration office as someone whose arrival would trigger immediate notification of police. – AFP