A Senegalese government official announced Friday that the country will summon former president Macky Sall to appear in court. An independent audit found serious problems with the national treasury's financial records during Sall's presidency.
The ex-president is accused of overseeing a disastrous misuse of public money. The report challenged official numbers from when he was in charge and significantly increased the actual amounts for both government debt and deficit spending.
Sall has lived in Morocco since his term ended last year. He claims the controversy surrounding the audit is politically motivated. Government spokesman Moustapha Sarre suggested that based on the report's findings, Sall could be viewed as the head of a criminal organization.
"He will have to face the justice system. There's no way around that," Sarre cautioned. "As the top official, he bears primary responsibility for the extremely grave actions that took place." The audit, released February 12th, revealed accounting inconsistencies, like a 2023 budget deficit of 12.3%. That's over twice the 4.9% figure announced under Sall.
Bassirou Diomaye Faye became president last March. He has vowed to take a completely different approach than Sall. Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko, Sall's longtime political rival, announced plans in September to look into what he called rampant corruption by the former administration.
Authorities have arrested and jailed several ex-officials in recent months. Just Thursday, they charged a lawmaker close to Sall with fraud and money laundering. The audit office's report has set off a major government response to hold the previous leadership accountable.
The ex-president is accused of overseeing a disastrous misuse of public money. The report challenged official numbers from when he was in charge and significantly increased the actual amounts for both government debt and deficit spending.
Sall has lived in Morocco since his term ended last year. He claims the controversy surrounding the audit is politically motivated. Government spokesman Moustapha Sarre suggested that based on the report's findings, Sall could be viewed as the head of a criminal organization.
"He will have to face the justice system. There's no way around that," Sarre cautioned. "As the top official, he bears primary responsibility for the extremely grave actions that took place." The audit, released February 12th, revealed accounting inconsistencies, like a 2023 budget deficit of 12.3%. That's over twice the 4.9% figure announced under Sall.
Bassirou Diomaye Faye became president last March. He has vowed to take a completely different approach than Sall. Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko, Sall's longtime political rival, announced plans in September to look into what he called rampant corruption by the former administration.
Authorities have arrested and jailed several ex-officials in recent months. Just Thursday, they charged a lawmaker close to Sall with fraud and money laundering. The audit office's report has set off a major government response to hold the previous leadership accountable.
