SUDAN: BASHIR FAMILY PROPERTIES CONFISCATES

KHARTOUM, Sudan

A Sudanese anti-corruption committee said on Thursday that it will confiscate several large plots of land and residential properties in the capital Khartoum from relatives of ousted President Omar al-Bashir after investigations found they were acquired largely due to family ties.

The Empowerment Removal Committee said it confiscated property from Bashir’s brother-in-law, nieces, nephews, and even a former defence minister, who was a close ally of the former president. It transferred the ownership of the several plots, which totalled around 92,000 square meters (990,000 square feet) in size, to the finance ministry.

Separately, it also dissolved the boards of the Khartoum International Airport Company and the Sudan Airports Holding Company over corruption accusations.

The committee was charged by the attorney general with dismantling the system built by Bashir after his ouster in April last year. It oversees investigations into crimes involving public funds and corruption by the former president and members of his extended family and old regime.

Bashir, who has been jailed in Khartoum since he was toppled following mass protests against his 30-year rule, is wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity in the Darfur region.

A Sudanese court handed Bashir a first, two-year sentence in December on corruption charges. He also faces trials and investigations over the killing of protesters and his role in the 1989 coup that brought him to power. - Reuters