Former Comoros president charged with graft in ' passport sale scheme'

Former Comoros President Ahmed Abdallah Mohamed Sambi was charged with corruption and embezzlement on Tuesday, which comes after he was put under house arrest.

Sambi has been accused of embezzling public funds through the sale of Comoros' passports to Gulf states, according to Reuters.

He is likely to be jailed to prevent him leaving the country as prosecutors look into alleged deals he made with the UAE and Kuwait in 2008, to provide stateless residents - known as "Bidoon" - with Comoros' passports, in able for them to obtain residencies in the Gulf states but not nationality.

Prosecutors accuse Sambi of pocketing some of the cash from the claimed scheme.

The Comoros parliament allege that at least $100 million has gone missing, while thousands of passports were sold through "mafia" networks, some to Iranians who work in sectors targeted by US sanctions on Tehran.

One of Sambi's lawyers, Mahamoud Ahamada, complained to the news agency about his client's conditions.

"Sambi no longer has access to his telephone and the conditions of his detention are prison-like," he said. 

"It seems he has been detained and charged in relation to the (passport) issue."

Ikililou Dhoinine, Sambi's successor, and other officials, have also seen restrictions put on them, although they have not been charged.