Huge sums of cash have been discovered by anti-corruption
investigators at ex President Omar al Bashir's former residence, less than two
weeks after he was kicked out of office in a military coup.
Senior public prosecutor in Sudan, Mutasim Mahmoud, in a
statement, announced the seizure of $351 million, €6,7 million, and SDG 5
billion ($105 million) at the residence.
He confirmed that the cash is secure within the vaults of
the Bank of Sudan, and that charges will be filed against Bashir under the
foreign exchange and money laundering law.
Reuters quoted a source in Sudan’s judiciary as saying
suitcases loaded with more than $351,000, €6m ($6.7m; £5.2m) and five billion
Sudanese pounds ($105m) were found at Bashir’s home. The agency said the source
also confirmed that Bashir was under investigation and that prosecutors would
“question the former president in Kobar prison”.
Al Jazeera said as president, al-Bashir often played up his
humble beginnings as the child of a poor farming family in Hosh Bannaga, a
small village consisting mainly of mud houses on the eastern bank of the Nile
some 150km north of Khartoum. Bashir is wanted by the International Criminal
Court (ICC) for alleged war crimes in the country’s Darfur region but the
military which is in charge of the country has vowed not to extradite him.
The Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA), which
organised the protests that forced al-Bashir out of power, has expressed
dissatisfaction with the military taking control of the country but the
military council has resisted calls to hand over power to a civilian body. The
association has vowed to stay on the streets until there is a move to civilian
rule.
