Comoros ex-presidents embroiled in passport scandal

MORONI, Comoros: Two former Comoros presidents are suspected of embezzling millions of dollars from a scheme that sold passports to foreigners to finance development in the Indian Ocean island nation.

A parliamentary report compiled in December and seen by AFP accuses Ahmed Abdallah Sambi and Ikililou Dhoinine of involvement in systematic fraud and calls for criminal action against the pair. “The courts must take up cases of embezzlement of public funds and conspiracy in which presidents and their associates are implicated,” the report said. The scandal dates back to 2008 when Comoros launched a programme, in cooperation with the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait, to give citizenship to stateless individuals from the Gulf known as bidoons. In return, Comoros — an archipelago between Mozambique and Madagascar and one of the world’s poorest countries — was expected to receive significant investment from the oil-rich nations.