Public prosecution is to summon Ould Abdel Aziz over corruption and money laundering accusations
Sahara Medias has learned from well-informed sources that the public prosecution is to summon the former president, Mohamed O. Abdel Aziz, next Monday. Such a process comes at the end of the preliminary investigations conducted by the police of Economic and Financial crimes over corruption allegations related to the ex-president.
According to these sources, Ould Abdel Aziz will be summoned and others included in the investigations, whose names were mentioned in the report issued last July by the parliamentary inquiry committee.
The sources added that the public prosecution would indict the former president with corruption and money laundering charges based on the preliminary investigation’s outcomes.
It is expected that after issuing the accusations, the public prosecution would either refer the accused to prison or putting them under judicial control. The sources did not reveal further details in this regard.
After the accusation, the criminal investigation shall start intensely, as indicated by the judicial procedures.
It is also expected that the process to take one-year renewable before reaching a trial.
It is to be noted that the Mauritanian parliament formed an inquiry committee at the beginning of the ongoing year.
The committee revealed that large operations were marked with corruption during the reign of Mohamed O. Abdel Aziz.
At the end of its report, the committee recommended referring the files to justice to deepen the investigation and fix the Mauritanian system’s procedural and legal loopholes.
In Mauritanian history, it is the first time to investigate with a former president on corruption accusations.
Previously, O. Abdel Aziz declared that he and his close allies are a victim to a political settling of scores after attempting to practice politics from the ruling party, Union for the Republic, last year.
The preliminary inquiry continued for more than two months. The former president was summoned several times, but he, every time, refused to answer investigators’ questions, claiming that the constitution grants him immunity as a former president.
