Mohamed ould abdel aziz maroc telecom
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Hearings began January 2023, and initial verdicts were issued in December that year before the case moved to a higher court.
Ould Abdel Aziz and the former officials faced charges of corruption, illicit enrichment, money laundering, granting unjustified privileges in government contracts and causing harm to the state’s interests.
Authorities froze 41 billion ouguiyas ($100 million) as part of the case, more than half of which were assets belonging to Ould Abdel Aziz and his family, according to media reports.
Ould Abdel Aziz served two terms from 2009 to 2019 but did not run in the June 2019 elections, instead endorsing his successor, Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, who began a five-year term in August of that year.
Former Mauritania president who illegally amassed Sh9 billion sentenced to 15 years in prison
Mauritania's former President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz has been sentenced to 15 years in prison and fined Sh387 million ($3 million) for corruption-related crimes committed while in office.
Aziz was convicted in 2023 of money laundering and self-enrichment, with investigators revealing that he amassed more than Sh9 billion ($70 million) in assets during his presidency and has been in custody since the verdict was delivered.
According to AFP, Aziz, who helped lead two coups before serving two terms as president of the northwest African country, had positioned himself as a counterterrorism ally to Western nations.
The high-profile trial marked a rare case of an African head of state being held accountable for corruption.
Aziz's legal team, however, claimed the case is politically motivated, describing it as a personal feud between the former president and his successor, Mohamed Ould Cheikh Ghazouani.
They will pay dearly, the People SHALL win at the end of the day."
@mikemalia40041 agreed, saying, "Kenyans should learn to jail corrupt politicians."
@oprono77 added, "What is wrong with Kenya Judiciary, EACC and DCI? Those who were involved in Adani, KEMSA and other scandals should be in jail."
Aziz's sentencing comes just a month after a Peruvian court handed former President Ollanta Humala and his wife, Nadine Heredia, 15-year sentences for laundering funds from Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht to finance his 2006 and 2011 campaigns.
Judges found that the couple received nearly Sh400 million ($3 million) in illegal campaign contributions from Odebrecht and Venezuela's former President Hugo Chavez.
Tutashuka nao na odious debt.
Nadine's brother, Ilan Heredia, was also sentenced to 12 years for his role in the scheme.
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Mauritania's ex-President Aziz jailed for five years for corruption
It found Aziz guilty of money laundering and abusing his position to illegally enrich himself, but acquitted him on other charges.
The court also ordered the confiscation of his illegally acquired assets,
Aziz, 66, was elected president in 2009 after toppling President Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi in a coup, and went on to lead Mauritania until 2019.
He had been on trial in the capital, Nouakchott, since January, alongside 10 other prominent figures, including two former prime ministers and former ministers who served in his administration.
They had been charged with several offences, including abuse of power, money laundering, illicit enrichment and influence peddling.
The court, which specialises in corruption and economic crimes, also sentenced some of the co-accused on Monday, albeit to lighter sentences than Aziz, while the former prime ministers and two ex-ministers were acquitted.
Aziz maintained his innocence throughout the trial and described his prosecution as politically motivated.
He is said to have fallen out with his successor and current President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, who was once his close political ally, the AFP news agency reports.
He is also alleged to have amassed immense wealth during his decade-long rule.
"The trial we attended was a political trial, and its verdict is also very political," one of Aziz's lawyers, Mohameden Ould Icheddou, was quoted as saying by AFP.
His lawyers have also said that they plan to appeal against the verdict.
Ex-Mauritania President Ould Abdel Aziz sentenced to 15 years in prison for corruption
A court in Mauritania yesterday sentenced former President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz to 15 years in prison on corruption charges, according to an Anadolu correspondent.
The ruling was issued during a session dedicated to announcing the verdict in the “Decade of Corruption” case, referring to Ould Abdel Aziz’s ten-year rule, in which he and several of his senior officials were charged.
The court also ordered the dissolution of the Al-Rahma Charity Association, which was managed by Badr Ould Abdel Aziz, the former president’s son, and the confiscation of its assets.
Ould Abdel Aziz’s legal team is expected to appeal the decision.
The case is considered the longest trial in the country’s history.
In response, a parliamentary commission launched a corruption probe into Aziz and 11 others in 2020.
The ruling sparked reactions from Kenyans online, many of whom expressed hope that similar accountability would be applied to corrupt leaders in Kenya.
@rufex001 tweeted, "Have the political cousins seen this?
The two were allies until Ghazouani succeeded Aziz in 2019, in Mauritania's first peaceful transfer of power since independence.
Tensions escalated when Aziz attempted to reclaim control of a major political party post-presidency.