A deceptive communiqué, falsely attributed to the Ministry of Finance and Budget, began circulating on social media platforms on July 7, 2026, promoting a cryptocurrency investment opportunity in the République centrafricaine. The document claims the Ministry of Finance and Budget has opened a cryptocurrency investment session aimed at inclusive economic growth, a proposition that has since been thoroughly debunked. However, the organization #StopATènè has verified that the communiqué is an elaborate scam designed to defraud individuals. According to #StopATènè, the claim that the Ministry of Finance and Budget initiated such a session for inclusive economic growth is false and misleading, and constitutes a significant misrepresentation of official government policy. The fraudulent communication actively encourages individuals to participate in what is being exposed as a deceptive financial scheme, preying on public interest in investment opportunities.
Scam's Deceptive Details
The deceptive communiqué, which initiated the scam, was prominently published on a Facebook page identified as 'BGFI Bank Centrafrique RCA', a page that boasts 1.9k followers, lending it a veneer of credibility. This misleading document claims that the purported investment sessions are supervised by 'Central African and American cryptocurrency experts', a detail intended to reassure potential investors of the scheme's legitimacy and global backing. It explicitly asks Centrafricans to send their personal information via a provided number to invest, a common tactic used in phishing attempts. The proposed investment amounts, detailed within the communiqué, range from 20,000 FCFA to 250,000 FCFA, making it accessible to a wide range of potential victims. The document portrays these investments as a pathway to significant returns, further enticing individuals to participate.
A closer examination of the falsified document reveals numerous red flags indicative of its fraudulent nature. While it uses the header 'ministère des finances et du budget', it inconsistently refers to a guarantee from the 'ministère de l’économie et des finances' within the text, betraying a lack of precision typical of official government communications. Crucially, the document lacks standard official registration details, decree numbers, law numbers, or citations from an official journal, all of which are standard requirements for legitimate government pronouncements. A visual inspection of the document reveals that logos, the national coat of arms, and seals show distinct pixellation and superposition, characteristic of low-resolution image copy-pasting, suggesting amateurish manipulation rather than professional design.
Further technical analysis performed by ExifTool, a program used for reading and writing meta information in files, indicates that the signature attributed to Hervé Ndoba, a key official, was digitally applied to a scanned official seal, rather than being an original, authentic signature. This detail further shows the document's inauthenticity. The language used also raises suspicions; the document employs the phrase 'contactez notre service client', a formulation highly typical of a private company or commercial entity rather than a formal government ministry. The communiqué conspicuously lacks an official address, a government website, or an administrative email address, providing only a single WhatsApp number: (+236) 73 32 15 68, which is an unconventional and insecure channel for official government communication regarding financial investments. A particularly alarming detail is that both the fraudulent communiqué and a legitimate note of information attributed to the Ministry of Finance and Budget bear the identical reference number: 00060/MFB-26, a tactic likely employed to confuse and mislead the public into believing the fake document is authentic. The request for an official ID and phone number, as specified in the fake communiqué, is characteristic of identity theft and phishing attempts, aiming to harvest personal data from unsuspecting individuals.
Official Denials and Investigations
On July 8, the day after the fraudulent communiqué began circulating widely, the organization #StopATènè took swift action, visiting the Ministry of Finance and Budget to verify the document's authenticity directly. Following this key verification, the Ministry of Finance and Budget formally denied the information contained in the fake communiqué through its communication service, issuing a clear and unequivocal rejection of the scam. The Ministry further published a denial on its official Facebook page also on July 8, specifically urging the public to exercise extreme vigilance regarding the fraudulent claims and to disregard the deceptive investment opportunity.
In its full investigation, #StopATènè also contacted the General Directorate of BGFI Bank, which was inadvertently implicated by the Facebook page 'BGFI Bank Centrafrique RCA' that published the deceptive communiqué. Officials at BGFI Bank promptly denied the information presented in the fraudulent document and confirmed that their official Facebook account had been recently hacked, explaining how the scam communiqué came to be posted under their name. The bank's statement unequivocally clarified that it had no involvement whatsoever in the alleged cryptocurrency investment scheme, dissociating itself entirely from the fraudulent activity. The request for an official ID and phone number, as specified in the fake communiqué, is characteristic of identity theft and phishing attempts, according to fraud analysis, noting the dual threat posed by the scam.
Context and Background
The fraudulent communiqué surfaced amidst a complex and evolving regulatory environment for cryptocurrencies in the Central African Republic. A significant development in this landscape occurred in April 2023, when the law that had previously made Bitcoin legal tender in the country was officially repealed. This legislative change marked a shift in the nation's approach to digital currencies, moving away from broad adoption of Bitcoin. Despite this change, the country continues its pursuit of the 'Sango Coin' national cryptocurrency project, an ambitious initiative. This project notably aims to attract foreign investment, specifically targeting key sectors like mining and natural resources, by leveraging the potential of a state-backed digital currency. The ongoing efforts to develop and promote Sango Coin create a fertile ground for scams that exploit public interest and confusion regarding legitimate cryptocurrency initiatives.
The timing of the false information is particularly notable, emerging just one day after a significant meeting of the SAFE project steering committee. This high-level meeting involved key governmental bodies and international partners, showing its importance to the nation's financial and development strategies. Participants included representatives from the Ministry of Finance and Budget, the Ministry of Plan and International Cooperation, and the EU delegation in the Central African Republic. The convergence of these events – a major meeting on financial projects and the immediate circulation of a sophisticated financial scam – notes the ongoing discussions and developments surrounding financial and digital initiatives within the nation, as well as the ever-present threat of cyber fraud attempting to capitalize on these developments.