Guohua Zhang, head of the Chinese group Honest Timber which bought out Plysorol last year, was briefly held last week because his identity papers were "false", a senior documentation and immigration department official told AFP.

"He was arrested for falsification of identity," General Michel Andjambe said.

The businessman was released but had been barred from leaving Gabon and ordered to pay the customs office two billion FCFA (three million dollars, 2.2 million dollars), he said, without making clear what the payment was for.

"On his residence permit, the name and surname were switched, the date of birth did not match and it was written that he is an employee of a business whereas he is the boss of Honest Timber and of Plysorol," Andjambe said.

"We have let him go but he does not have the right to leave Gabon territory," the general said.

Zhang took over Plysorol in 2009 vowing to keep all its employees.

However it owes 10 million euros in unpaid wages, said a lawyer for the employees, Philippe Brun.

A court in France's northern city of Lisieux, where Plysorol is based, ordered Friday an enquiry to determine if the business should be declared in "suspension of payments" as it deals with its financial problems, Brun said.

Zhang renewed his promises to invest in France to Industry Minister Christian Estrosi at the end of October but spells of partial unemployment have increased while ecological complaints against the company have gained support.

Jacky Bonnemains, president of France's Robin des Bois environmental protection group, accused Zhang of harming biodiversity in Gabon and infringing employee rights, and of sending wood from the country directly to China without checks.

"What interests Mr Zhang is the 500,000 hectares (1.2 million acres) of Plysorol forest in Gabon which he has since been running in the murkiest fashion to the detriment of the biodiversity," he said.

Gabon, a former French colony in West Africa, has rich tropical forest which conservationists warn is under threat.

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