A special criminal court in Gabon has sentenced former first lady Sylvia Bongo and her son, Noureddin Bongo Valentin, to 20 years in prison in absentia after finding them guilty of embezzling public funds and money laundering.

The court in Libreville handed down the verdict late Tuesday after a two-day trial and issued arrest warrants for both. They were also ordered to pay millions of dollars in damages for what prosecutors called “crimes against the Gabonese state.”

Valentin dismissed the proceedings as politically motivated, saying the verdict had been “predetermined” under President Oligui Nguema’s administration and calling the trial “a simple formality.”

Sylvia Bongo and her son were influential figures during former President Ali Bongo’s 14-year rule. Ali Bongo was ousted in a 2023 military coup after a disputed election, ending the Bongo family’s 56-year grip on power in the central African nation.

Prosecutors accused the two of exploiting the former president’s poor health to gain control of state finances. Witnesses described Valentin, who served as coordinator of presidential affairs, as the main decision-maker at the presidential palace after Ali Bongo suffered a stroke in 2018.

Following the coup, both were detained for 20 months before being allowed to leave the country. They now reside in London and hold French citizenship, refusing to participate in the trial.

During the proceedings, prosecutors presented evidence including images of two private jets allegedly purchased with laundered money, as well as property holdings in London and Morocco.

“They reigned unchallenged and tried to portray themselves as victims of the very system they built,” said Eddy Minang, prosecutor general at the Libreville Court of Appeal.