Police in Mauritania have confiscated the passport of Amal mint Maouloud, the current managing director of Mauritania Airlines (L6, Nouakchott), over allegations of corruption during her time as the country's Minister of Urban Development and Spatial Planning.
The move comes after Mohamed Ould Bilal was appointed prime minister by President Mohamed El Ghazouani following the resignation of Ismail Sidiya and six ministers last week. They were collectively named in a parliamentary investigation report which had focussed on high-level graft in the sale of state-owned companies and embezzlement in key sectors of the economy such as mining, oil, and fishing, between 2008 and 2019.
According to the official AMI news agency, aside from Maouloud, the passport of Mauritania's prime minister between 2014 and 2018, Yahya ould Hademine, was also confiscated alongside that of Mohamed Abdallahi ould Oudaa, the former managing director of Mauritania's national industrial and mining syndicate (Société Nationale Industrielle et Minière - SNIM).
During the course of their investigations, local police have also interviewed three former prime ministers, former ministers and even members of the government who retained their posts during El Ghazouani's first term as president.
