The Cotonou Commercial Court handed down the 18th December 2025, a judgment in first instance, at the Bank Of Africa Benin (BOA-Benin). The institution is ordered to return reimbursement penalties advance payments taken from a customer's bank account in his books.

A lawyer by profession is said to have taken out a loan of 21,790,000 FCFA with BOA-Benin in February 2022. Two years later, the borrower requests a repurchase of its credit by a competing bank in order to obtain better conditions to finance your children's studies abroad. Lors of this takeover operation, the BOA-Benin applies a penalty of 4% on the remaining outstanding amount, thus drawing the sum of 376,638 FCFA. Challenging this debit, the customer refers the matter to the Cotonou Commercial Court on 25 March 2025, to obtain reimbursement and “the condemnation of the BOA Benin to payment” Amounts of one million (1,000,000) francs and seven hundred thousand (700,000) francs for damages and expenses that cannot be repeated.”

According to the Tribunal, the bank did not produce the general terms and conditions in force at the time of signing the loan agreement, “much less proof of their communication to the applicant for acceptance.”

As a result, the court ruled that “this sample is not justified” and ordered its return immediate.