(Ecofin Agency) - Senegal’s former foreign affair minister, Cheikh Tidiane Gadio (picture), and Chi Ping Patrick Ho, the head of an NGO based in Hong Kong and Virginia, in the Eastern part of the US, were arrested by the U.S justice in the framework of a case of corruption of high officials in Chad an Uganda.

Cheikh Tidiane Gadio, was arrested Friday in New York and brought to court the next day, while Chi Ping Patrick Ho was arrested Saturday and brought to court Monday.

According to a statement from the U.S ministry of justice released Monday, the two individuals are accused of having bribed for many years high officials of these countries to get advantages for a Chinese oil firm. The bribes are estimated at millions of dollars.

“In an international corruption scheme that spanned the globe, Chi Ping Patrick Ho and Cheikh Gadio allegedly conspired to bribe African government officials on behalf of a Chinese energy conglomerate,” acting Manhattan US Attorney Joon Kim said in a statement. However, the name of the Chinese oil firm was not disclosed.

In fact, the former Senegalese minister and Chi Ping Patrick Ho are suspected of having transferred through the US banking system millions of dollars to bribe Chad’s President Idriss Deby, as well as Uganda’s minister of foreign affairs.

Cheikh Tidiane Gadio is blamed of having played a major role in the awarding by President Deby of oil rights to the Chinese firm, without any international call to tenders. The bribe involved in this process amounts to $2 million.

As for Chi Ping Patrick Ho, the US justice accuses him of having transferred money to the account of the Ugandan minister of foreign affairs, in addition to providing him gifts and making him other favors. The goal here was to obtain shares in Uganda’s oil market.

This case is not the first bribe case involving former African leaders and Chinese companies.

Actually, last May even, Mahmoud Thiam, Guinea’s former minister of mines was recognized guilty of bribe laundry for Chinese firms. He was also found to have used a bribe of $8.5 million he received to pay the school fees of his kids and purchase a $3.75 million house near New York.