Comoros ex-president says innocent of charges against him on passports scheme
Published: 23/Aug/2018
Source: Reuters
MORONI (Reuters) – Former Comoros president Ahmed Abdallah Mohamed Sambi rejects charges of corruption and embezzling public funds in connection with a scheme to sell his country’s passports and will prove his innocence, his lawyer said on Thursday.
A court document, dated Aug. 20 and seen by Reuters, showed Sambi and his associates also face charges linked to forgery and falsification of records.
Mahamoud Ahamada, Sambi’s lawyer, told Reuters by phone that he had met Sambi since he was charged and he denies the accusations. “President Sambi will prove his innocence by defending himself against all the accusations that have been levelled against him,” Ahamada said.
Sambi, who was in power from 2006 to 2011 and has been under house arrest since May, has previously denied all allegations against him.