A Boeing 727-100 (registration 9Q-CMC) belonging to the Democratic Republic of Congo Transport Minister Jean-Pierre Bemba has been seized by Portuguese authorities after remaining parked at Faro Airport for 19 years.
Portuguese aviation authorities had given Bemba 60 days to remove the aircraft and pay nearly €1 million in accumulated parking fees or risk forfeiture. After the deadline expired without action, the aircraft was formally seized.
The case stems from 2008, when the International Criminal Court requested the freezing of Bemba’s assets during legal proceedings against him. The aircraft was impounded in Portugal as part of those measures and has remained at Faro ever since. Portuguese authorities later classified the prolonged parking as abusive under updated rules governing abandoned aircraft.
Bemba, who was acquitted by the ICC in 2018, has not publicly commented, though associates argue that the ICC should bear responsibility for the consequences and costs linked to the aircraft’s long-term detention.
Source: RFI