Cameroon is mourning the death of Hubert Nde Sambone, Director General of the National Agency for Financial Investigation (ANIF). According to family sources, he passed away overnight after suffering discomfort following a trip to his home region in the East.
Appointed head of ANIF since its creation in 2005, Hubert Nde Sambone was a central figure in Cameroon's fight against money laundering and terrorist financing. ANIF, under the supervision of the Ministry of Finance, plays a crucial role in detecting and analyzing suspicious financial flows. His job was to receive, process and transmit to the judicial authorities information to establish the origin of illicit funds.
His death comes at a time when several personalities from the Eastern region have disappeared in recent years, raising questions among the public. He is notably the second major figure from this region to die suddenly after the former Minister of Mines, Gabriel Dodo Ndoké, who died in January 2022.
Beyond his purely administrative functions, Hubert Nde Sambone was seen as a strategic player in consolidating financial regulation mechanisms in Cameroon. In February 2026, he stressed the urgency for Cameroon to exit the grey list of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and the efforts undertaken by ANIF to strengthen the supervision of non-financial actors. His disappearance leaves a significant void in the fight against illicit financial circuits in Cameroon.
Tributes are already pouring in from administrative and political circles, pending an official reaction from the authorities and possible clarification on the causes of his death. Created in 2005, ANIF is attached to the Ministry of Finance.
