Transparency International seeks probe of Madagascar's lychee market

Transparency International has called for an investigation of possible criminal actions in Madagascar's lychee trade - historically an important part of the country's agricultural industry - the anti-corruption group said on Thursday. The group has sent submissions to the office of France's national financial prosecutor and Madagascar's anti-graft court, it added in a statement.

Transparency International has called for an investigation of possible criminal actions in Madagascar's lychee trade - historically an important part of the country's agricultural industry - the anti-corruption group said on Thursday.

The group has sent submissions to the office of France's national financial prosecutor and Madagascar's anti-graft court, it added in a statement. The organization said it wanted to probe links between French companies involved in Madagascar's lychee industry and other organizations in the African country, in case there was any corruption that deprived Madagascar farmers of earning their fair share of the money.

"Most profits of the lucrative lychee trade between Madagascar and the EU are concentrated in the hands of a few powerful and politically connected individuals – at the expense of tens of thousands of small-scale lychee producers and collectors who do not get their fair share," said Ketakandriana Rafitoson, executive director of Transparency International Madagascar. "We call on the French and Malagasy authorities to investigate and take appropriate measures to bring justice, fairness and transparency to the lychee sector," added Robinson.

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