Former President Denies Corruption Charges

Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, the former president of Mauritania, has pleaded not guilty to corruption charges. These charges include illicit enrichment, influence peddling, money laundering, and abuse of office. The former president denied the charges during his questioning in a court in the capital, Nouakchott.

Two former prime ministers, former ministers, and businessmen, are among the other nine defendants in the case. Aziz denied all the charges and claimed to have reduced the country’s internal debt by almost half during his tenure. He instated that he was never involved in any kind of squandering of public funds.

The trial opened on January 25 and has been postponed several times. Aziz was arrested in January and accused of embezzling over $72 million during his term.