Gamall Augustin's Case Worsens with ULCC Report

Already incarcerated, Gamall Augustin sees his case grow heavier. In a seven-page investigative report submitted to the press on September 26, 2025, the Anti-Corruption Unit (ULCC) details a series of alleged acts of corruption committed during his management at the head of the National Television of Haiti (TNH). The investigation was triggered after a petition signed by more than 6,000 citizens and transmitted to the ULCC on February 21, 2025. Mandated by Director General Hans Jacques Ludwig Joseph, a special commission reviewed documents from the TNH, the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF), and banking institutions, covering the period from October 2016 to February 2025. It also interviewed several executives, including former director Gamall Augustin, administrative director Halem Michel, technical director Jean Yvon Auguste, and the president of the restructuring commission, Marie Sandra Duvivier. Abuse of Office and Illegal Hosting The ULCC accuses Gamall Augustin of having hosted and connected antennas of other media outlets to the state-owned Boutilliers site. Kingdom FM, Vlaw FM, Zoom FM, Banbòch TV, and Radio Télé Monopole allegedly benefited from public facilities. During his hearing, Gamall Augustin admitted to being a co-owner of Banbòch TV and to having received a check for US$4,000 from Radio Monopole in November 2023 for «purchase and installation of equipment»; this constitutes an abuse of office under the laws governing the TNH. Illegal Taking of Interest In 2021, a contract between TNH and the company NATCOM provided for the installation of an Internet connection at a site supposedly belonging to public television, in Fort-Jacques. The ULCC discovered that this connection was installed at Gamall Augustin's personal residence, demonstrating a blatant conflict of interest and an illegal taking of interest. Forgery in Public Documents and Embezzlement The investigation reveals serious manipulations in the management of debit cards intended for staff: addition and removal of beneficiaries, unjustified inflation or reduction of amounts, falsification of requisitions addressed to the National Bank of Credit. The irregularities noted for the months of October, December 2024, and February 2025 total nearly 5.96 million gourdes. Halem Michel, TNH administrator, admitted to having falsified the documents, stating that he acted on the orders of Gamall Augustin, who himself cashed 500,000 gourdes, well beyond the planned amount of 35,660 gourdes. Fuel management is equally compromising: between 2016 and 2025, more than 75.37 million gourdes were spent to supply sites, some of which, like the Bijou site, had been inactive since 2022, leading to massive embezzlement of public funds. Responsibilities and Recommendations For the ULCC, these practices constitute offenses of abuse of office, illegal taking of interest, forgery in public documents, and embezzlement of public property. The institution recommends: a complete audit of Gamall Augustin's management period, a renegotiation of the contract with NATCOM, and the establishment of a salary scale and a legal unit at TNH. On the judicial front, the ULCC demands the initiation of public action against Gamall Augustin for all the cited offenses, as well as against Halem Michel, prosecuted for forgery in public documents and complicity in embezzlement. This report, which adds to the ongoing detention of the former director of TNH, once again highlights the abuses of public management in Haiti and now places justice before its responsibilities. The editorial team