Aliou Sall, younger brother of former Senegalese president Macky Sall, has been formally charged with money laundering and corruption, his lawyer confirmed on Monday.
Sall, who had been held in custody alongside his wife at a Dakar police station since October 7, was released on bail late Monday after appearing before a judge from the Financial Judicial Pool (PJF).
According to his lawyer, Ousmane Thiam, the charges include money laundering, criminal conspiracy to launder money, corruption, and influence peddling.
An anti-corruption agency attached to the Ministry of Finance linked a real estate company owned by Sall and his wife to suspicious financial transactions involving land acquisitions in the capital, Dakar.
Aliou Sall, a former mayor of Guediawaye and ex-head of a state-run savings deposit, previously resigned in 2019 following allegations of corruption in Senegal’s oil and gas sectors. The case was later dismissed in 2021 due to insufficient evidence.
He is the second close relative of the former president to face corruption charges this year. In May, Macky Sall’s brother-in-law and former Minister of Community Development, Amadou Mansour Faye, was arrested for allegedly embezzling funds intended for Covid-19 response efforts. He was granted provisional release under judicial supervision in late September.
President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, elected in March 2024, and his Prime Minister, Ousmane Sonko — both long-time critics of the Sall administration — have pledged to intensify the fight against corruption and mismanagement, beginning with investigations into the former president’s circle.
