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Sudan’s Bashir admits receiving funds from Saudi Arabia and the UAE

August 20, 2019 at 2:11 am

Ousted Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir delivers a speech at the presidential palace in the capital Khartoum on 3 January 2019 [ASHRAF SHAZLY/AFP/Getty Images]

Ousted President Omar Al-Bashir admitted receiving funds worth millions of Dollars from UAE and KSA. Al-Bashir’s confession came during the first session of his trial on a charge related to illegal dealing with foreign currency in Sudan.

The ousted Sudanese president acknowledged receiving $ 90 million in cash from the Saudi Crown Prince, an investigator revealed during Al-Bashir trial in Khartoum.

Police Lieutenant General Ahmed Ali said at the start of Al-Bashir’s corruption trial that the former president told him that the money “was handed over to him by some delegates from Mohammed bin Salman.”

Al-Bashir revealed during the court deliberations that all the money found in his possession was handed to the Deputy Chairman of the Military Council’s brother Abdul Rahim Daqlu.

The head of the junta, Abdul Fattah al-Burhan, announced last April that banknotes worth $113 million had been found in three different currencies at Al-Bashir’s residence in Khartoum.

Regarding the money he received from the UAE, Al-Bashir said: “Khalifa bin Zayed handed me an envelope containing $1 million, and I did not spend it because I did not like the way the money was granted.  I do not remember who I handed it to me, though.”

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Al-Bashir justified getting the money from Khalifa bin Zayed, saying: “The sum of money was presented as a gift. It was spent on charitable work, and I do not know what money was spent on exactly as there are no records of disbursement.”

According to statements in the investigation records,  Al-Bashir claimed that the money found in his possession was nothing to do with the state. He also said that the Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, had given him approximately $25 million through the director of his office, Taha Osman.

As for his personal properties, Al-Bashir explained that he owns a house in the neighbourhood of Kafouri, a farm, and an apartment.  As for the features of his wife, he claimed: “My wife has two plots of land in Kafouri which she bought after selling her car.”

This morning, the ousted Sudanese president arrived at the court in Khartoum, where he attended his first trial on charges against him that include illegal dealing with foreign currency, unlawful wealth accumulation,  and violation of the emergency order.

Sudan’s Attorney General also accused Al-Bashir of killing demonstrators during the demonstrations that led to his departure. However, the most serious charges the ousted president faces are from the Hague-based International Criminal Court.