Friday, March 29, 2024

Sudan Tribune

Plural news and views on Sudan

Sudan issues arrest warrant for former Sudanese intelligence chief

Salah Gosh

Salah Gosh in a photo taken on on February 9, 2019

July 28, 2022 (KHARTOUM) – Sudanese authorities have issued an international arrest warrant for Salah Abdallah Mohamed Saleh Gosh, the former head of intelligence services, over corruption charges during the former regime.

Gosh is accused of using his influence to force the former owner of Tarco Aviation Fadl Mohamed Khair, to pay $50 million in fines and cede the ownership of the airline before ending his detention and cancelling a corruption case filed against him.

The office of the Attorney General on Thursday arrested Saad Babikir Tarco General Manager to investigate charges related to illicit enrichment, abuse of influence, and irregularities in the transactions with the Bank of Khartoum, as well as foreign exchange irregularities, sources close to the file told Sudan Tribune.

The other individuals sued in the case are Salah Gosh and Waheeb al-Hadi who are residing in Cairo and Qesem al-Khaleq Babikir.

According to the sources, the prosecution on Thursday issued an arrest warrant for the defendants who are outside Sudan through the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL).

The Sudanese Islamist and controversial businessman Fadl Mohamed Khair had been arrested in July 2018, following pressures on former President Omer al-Bashir to combat corruption in the country.

However, it was not clear how he sold his shares in Tarco Aviation to Qesem al-Khaleq Babikir and Saad Babikir Mohamed Nur as the deal took place while he was in jail before his release in November 2018.

Gosh is accused of forcing Khair to sign the deal.

It is not clear why and who is behind the current case against the former head of the dissolved National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) who played a significant role in the collapse of the al-Bashir regime in April 2019.

Gosh resides in Egypt after his resignation from his position some days after the ouster of the regime.

However, on January 15, 2020, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo aka (Hemetti) Deputy Head of the Sovereign Council accused Gosh of being behind a rebellion of troops belonging to the NISS Operations Authority after a decision to dissolve it.

Tarco Aviation issued a statement in Khartoum to denounce the unjust arrest of its general manager Saad Babikir pointing to “organized campaign and malicious lawsuits filed against the airline.

(ST)