Sudan suspends refugee registration, probes commission for corruption

July 17, 2025 (KHARTOUM) – Sudan’s Interior Ministry has indefinitely suspended refugee registration and launched an investigation into the national refugee commission over allegations of corruption and mismanagement, official documents showed.

The decision followed a meeting last week, during which the commission’s director of financial and administrative affairs, Osama Ahmed al-Faki, was placed under investigation, according to a meeting report obtained by Sudan Tribune.

The commission has faced accusations of corruption, irregular appointments, and a series of unfair dismissals since war broke out in mid-April 2023, the report said.

In response, the ministry has frozen all new hiring, ordered an audit of all employee qualifications, and stated that it will revert to its 2005 administrative structure, according to the documents.

The turmoil comes as a government plan to relocate refugees from the capital, Khartoum, to other states has stalled due to a lack of funds.

The report cited widespread problems at the commission, including the dismissal of highly qualified employees and alleged interference in its work by the former interior minister.