Sudan has dismissed allegations that President Omar Hassan al-Bashir had deposited up to $9bn overseas, saying it was impossible because of sanctions.
Chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Luis Moreno-Ocampo told Reuters, after the allegations appeared in a leaked US diplomatic cable: ‘I am investigating the financial aspects and we have information about Bashir's money. I can confirm that it is up to $9bn.’
Mr Moreno-Ocampo is pursuing a case against Mr Bashir accusing him of masterminding genocide and war crimes in Sudan's western province of Darfur.
The cable published by WikiLeaks suggested disclosure of Mr Bashir's wealth could turn Sudanese opinion against him.
‘In my experience as a prosecutor, when you have these types of crimes, if they steal money it helps to delegitimise them,’ Mr Moreno-Ocampo told Reuters.
Asked whether he expected Bashir to be arrested soon, he said: ‘I'm sure it's just a matter of time.’
He added: ‘I have requested the arrest, but I cannot implement the arrest, it's the government of Sudan's mandate.’
Mr Bashir refuses to recognise the international court and has continued to travel, despite arrest warrants issued by ICC judges.
‘It is just propaganda - Ocampo using false information to create political pressure,’ said information ministry official Rabie Abdelati, a senior member of Bashir's National Congress Party (NCP).
‘I don't think President Bashir has a bank account in Europe or America or the Arab world. If President Bashir had a bank account in his name or another name it would be very easy for them to confiscate it,’ Abdelati told Reuters in Khartoum.
‘We are challenging them to say where the money is kept. If they can find this account then we give them license to take the money inside it as a prize.’
