Embezzlement charges filed against a Niger minister

A judicial source said on Wednesday that Niger’s communications minister was arrested in a high-profile embezzlement case.

“A magistrate in the Niamey economic and financial department has interviewed Mahamadou Zada,” the source said. The source said he ordered Zada held in Kollo, 50 km south of the capital.

The source said investigators are looking into the loss of three billion CFA francs ($5.8 million, 4.5 million euros) from Sopamin, a company that manages state mining holdings, between 2013 and 2021.

According to local media, the scandal erupted last year when Taanadi, a micro-lending firm, said it couldn’t find three billion CFA francs transferred to it by Sopamin.

A decade ago, Sopamin was embroiled in an international uranium trade scandal orchestrated by France’s Areva group, now Orano. Bazoum was elected last year after pledging to fight corruption during his campaign.

About 30 senior state officials convicted of embezzlement or misappropriation are currently and will be for a long time in prison, Bazoum said on Twitter on April 10.

In 2020, a military procurement fraud cost Niger 39.4 billion CFA francs due to overbilling and non-delivery of promised equipment.

Investigators say a trial is planned in this case, but no date has been set.

The landlocked Sahel state is the world’s poorest, according to the UN’s Human Development Index (HDI).

After two failed coup attempts in March 2021 and March 2022, a government official said on April 11 that former Interior Minister Ousmane Cisse was being held “for his part in two attempted coups.”

The government previously said a coup attempt was thwarted in March 2021, but has not mentioned a second attempt.

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