Mauritanian authorities have arrested former president Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, one of his lawyers said on Wednesday, amid an ongoing investigation into alleged high-level corruption during his time in office.
Abdel Aziz, who stepped down in 2019 after serving two five-year terms, was indicted in March and placed under house arrest in May, following a parliamentary investigation into suspected graft during his administration.
Abdel Aziz was taken into custody late on Tuesday for failing to appear before a judge last week, as he is required to do regularly under the terms of his judicial supervision, said Mohameden Ichidou, coordinator of the lawyers for his defence.
#Mauritanian authorities have arrested former president Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, one of his lawyers said on Wednesday, amid an ongoing investigation into alleged high-level corruption during his time in office. pic.twitter.com/KJt6iPZFb2
— MwanzoTV (@MwanzoTv) June 24, 2021
“The cause raised in the report relates to the absence of the former president in front of the judge on Friday and Sunday,” said Ichidou.
Aziz has twice gone before a magistrate investigating the case since the charges, including money laundering, were brought in March.
The move comes days after the former leader refused to continue reporting to police after being put under house arrest.
Aziz ruled the conservative West African state from 2008 to mid-2019, when he was succeeded by his former right-hand man and ex-defence minister, Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani.
The ex-president has said he is being persecuted in a bid to keep him out of politics, but has vowed he will not go into exile.
Aziz joined a small opposition party, Ribat National, in April in an attempt to salvage his political career after being expelled from the ruling Union for the Republic (UPR) party, which he had founded.
The 64-year-old former general who came to power in a coup already had to report to police three times a week and to seek approval before leaving the capital.
Former Mauritanian President Aziz has been jailed amid corruption allegations https://t.co/DiTqH9lq5g
— Bloomberg (@business) June 23, 2021
The charges followed a year-long probe initiated by parliament into the handling of oil revenue, the sale of state property, the winding up of a publicly owned food-supply company and the activities of a Chinese fishing firm.
A state prosecutor involved with the investigation in March said cash and assets worth the equivalent of about $115 million had been seized.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
