A semi-public arms sales company Defex was accused of paying commissions to Cameroonian officials and officials to win contracts. Dissolved since 2017, it was acquitted on Tuesday, February 28, 2023 by the Spanish courts.

Defex was founded by the Spanish State in 1972, before the end of the Franco dictatorship (1936-1975) with the aim of promoting the exports of the national military industry and was dissolved in 2017 due to this corruption scandal. In reality, in addition to Cameroon, Defex is also accused of having paid bribes to obtain contracts in Angola and Saudi Arabia. Last Tuesday, the verdict focused only on the Cameroonian aspect. The transaction at this level concerned the sale of boats to patrol the country's coastlines, as well as the training of personnel, according to the court.

Thus, between 2006 and 2013, Defex signed contracts worth more than 100 million euros in Cameroon. The National Court, the Spanish high court in charge of complex or sensitive cases, concluded that the company had indeed paid bribes in the form of “trips, stays in hotels and cosmetic surgery for the wife of a senior government official in Cameroon.” However, it acquitted the company of the crimes of corruption and money laundering because the acts took place between 2005 and 2013.