Sudan govt to seize Koran Association’s gold mine

Investigations into organisations and institutions set up by the defunct regime of ousted President Omar Al Bashir showed that the recently dissolved Holy Koran Association owns a gold mine in River Nile state.

Wajdi Saleh, member of the Anti-Corruption Committee, reported on Sunday that the committee is investigating criminal reports related to “a breach of trust”.

“The Holy Koran Association has been active in gold prospecting for quite some time now”, he said. He added that the association also owns a multi-storey building and two hotels in Khartoum, and nearly 100 vehicles.

Saleh explained that the Holy Koran Association received funds from the state since its foundation, in particular from the Zakat (Muslim alms) Chamber. This funding included machinery used to prospect gold. The funding ended when the Al Bashir regime was ousted in April last year.

According to Saleh, the association is supposed to deal with Islam advocacy activities, like teaching and memorising the Koran, “without engaging in commercial activities or any activity that goes beyond the goal for which it was established”.

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