Mauritania Supreme Court confirms conviction of former president Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz

Mauritania’s former president, Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, has lost his final appeal of a 15-year prison sentence for corruption while in office.

Abdel Aziz was initially sentenced to five years in prison in 2023 after being found guilty of amassing assets and capital worth 70 million dollars through illicit means. His lawyers argued that the trial was politically motivated but a first appeal of his conviction was rejected in May 2025 and his sentence increased by 10 years.

After seizing power in a 2008 coup, Abdel Aziz was twice elected president and served from 2009 to 2019 when he stepped down.

In 2021, he was charged with illicit enrichment, abuse of functions, influence-peddling and laundering alongside 10 other prominent figures, including two former prime ministers.

Since his conviction, he has been stripped of his assets and civic rights.