Sudan's ex-president Bashir charged with corruption

Sudan’s ex-president Omar al-Bashir was on Thursday formally charged with corruption, following the completion of an investigation by state prosecutors.

Bashir was overthrown and arrested in a coup by the military on April 11 after months of mass protests against his autocratic 30-year rule.

The charges were related to laws on “suspected illicit wealth and emergency orders”, the public prosecutor’s office said without giving more details.

Bashir had already been charged in May with incitement and involvement in the killing of protesters.

Prosecutors had also ordered his interrogation on suspicion of money laundering and financing terrorism.

It has not been possible to get a comment from Bashir since his ousting.

Sudan was placed on a U.S. list of sponsors of terrorism under Bashir, an Islamist former general who is also under indictment by the International Court of Justice over war crimes in the country’s western Darfur region.

On Wednesday, the top U.S. diplomat for Africa joined an international effort to press Sudan’s military rulers and the opposition toward a deal on a transition to democracy following the toppling of Bashir.

Stability in Sudan is crucial for a volatile region struggling against Islamist insurgencies from the Horn of Africa to Egypt and Libya. Various powers, including Russia and the Gulf Arab states, are trying to influence its path.

REUTERS