Mauritania’s Supreme Court has upheld the 15-year prison sentence handed to former president Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz for corruption, rejecting his final appeal.
Abdel Aziz was first sentenced to five years in 2023 after being found guilty of illegally amassing assets worth $70 million. His lawyers claimed the case was politically driven, but an appellate court dismissed the argument in May 2025, increasing his sentence to 15 years.
The former leader, who seized power in a 2008 coup and later won two elections to serve from 2009 to 2019, was charged in 2021 with illicit enrichment, abuse of office, influence-peddling, and money laundering alongside 10 senior officials, including two ex-prime ministers.
Following his conviction, Abdel Aziz was stripped of his assets and civic rights.
