SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Multiple sources – Al Bashir charged with corruption, tells court how he spent $25 million received from Saudi crown prince

31/8/19: Multiple sources – Al Bashir charged with corruption, tells court how he spent $25 million received from Saudi crown prince

• Reuters, by Khalid Abdelaziz

• AP, by Samy Magdy

• AFP

Former president Omar Al Bashir has been formally indicted for possessing illicit foreign currency and corruption, charges which Al Bashir denied.

 Al Bashir acknowledged that he received $25 million from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), as well as funds from other sources, but that he had not received or used the money for his own benefit.

 Al Bashir said that at least $2 million dollars went to a military hospital, $3 million to a Sudanese university and that $5 million was given to the Rapid Support Forces.

 Justifying why the money was not presented to the ministry of finance or the Sudanese central bank, Al Bashir said that this would have required clarifying the source of the funds, with MBS asking that his name should not appear.”

 Al Bashir also said that MBS hoped that any trial proceedings would not be public.