Former Comoros president charged with corruption, embezzlement

MORONI: Former Comoros president Ahmed Abdallah Mohamed Sambi rejected charges of corruption and embezzling public funds in connection with a scheme to sell his country’s passports and would prove his innocence, his lawyer said yesterday.

A court document dated August 20 showed Sambi and his associates also faced charges linked to forgery and falsification of records.

Mahamoud Ahamada, Sambi’s lawyer, said he had met Sambi since he was charged and he denied the accusations. “President Sambi will prove his innocence by defending himself against all the accusations that have been levelled against him.”

Sambi was in power from 2006 to 2011 and has been under house arrest since May.

The Comoros Islands began its programme to sell passports in 2008 as a way of raising much-needed cash. But an investigation (report) by the Comoros parliament released in March found that thousands of passports had been sold outside official channels via criminal networks and at least $100 million (R1.4 billion) of revenues had gone missing.

A Reuters investigation in June found that some of these passports had ended up being bought by Iranians, many of whom were involved in sectors that had been targeted by international sanctions in Iran.

Said Larifou, a lawyer who launched a citizens initiative calling for a criminal investigation into the passport scandal, called the case being brought against Sambi historic. “It is the start of a victory for the hundreds of Comorian citizens who dared to call for justice.

“The charging of former president Sambi, which will hopefully be followed by that of former president Ikililou (Dhoinine), are historic and defining legal steps in that they will no doubt help put an end to impunity.”

Dhoinine, who succeeded Sambi in 2011, has been questioned but not charged in relation to the passport programme.

The court document also said Sambi had abused his relative freedom while under house arrest to contact others who were involved in the scheme, then pressure them to hide evidence to undermine the investigation.

In a statement issued yesterday, Sambi’s JUWA party repeated accusations that the parliamentary report on the citizenship programme was flawed and the case against Sambi was aimed at neutralising critics of the current government.