Bangladesh, July 30 -- French financial prosecutors have requested that more than 20 individuals and corporate entities, including banking giant BNP Paribas, members of the late Gabonese President Omar Bongos family, and the wife of the President of the Republic of the Congo, stand trial in one of Europes most closely watched international corruption investigations. The move marks a significant milestone in Frances long-running “ill-gotten gains” inquiry, a case that has spent nearly two decades examining allegations that African political elites accumulated luxury assets in France using money diverted from public funds.

The request, submitted by Frances National Financial Prosecutors Office (PNF), follows years of investigat...