Mauritania : Ould Abdel Aziz's foreign assets investigated by justice

The investigating judge in charge of financial crimes in Nouakchott decided to resume, this week, the interrogation of the former Mauritanian president Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, accused of «corruption, embezzlement of public funds and illicit enrichment». According to AlQuds Alarabi, this decision came more than a month after he was placed under strict judicial control and indicted on the same charges.

The same source indicates that the judge has launched legal demands concerning funds suspected of belonging to the former President of Mauritania. Funds that would be located in Turkey and France. 

The judge will appeal to judicial cooperation between Mauritania and these two countries to verify these claims. The prosecution confirmed, a few weeks ago, that it «will pursue the money obtained illegally, in order to recover it by all legal means».

In its press release, the prosecution confirmed the freezing of the property and assets of those accused in this case, including 40 billion ouguiyas (9.9 billion dirhams) and 29 billion ouguiyas (7.1 billion dirhams) belonging to Ould Abdel Aziz.

In a long interview with Jeune Afrique, the former president considered that «the parliamentary investigation and judicial research have exaggerated its wealth». «Regarding the villas mentioned in the report, with the exception of the houses that I have declared, these are houses belonging to my in-laws or relatives and are not registered in my name», he defended himself.