Suspect funds used to send military gear to Sudan neighbours: Bashir trial witness

A witness in the trial of Omar al-Bashir said Saturday that his army-owned firm had supplied military equipment to neighbouring countries using funds allegedly received illegally by the ousted Sudanese leader.

Bashir was deposed by the army in April following months of protests against his iron-fisted rule of three decades.

In August, he was charged with the illegal acquisition and use of foreign funds -- offences that could land him behind bars for more than a decade.

Authorities had seized 6.9 million euros, USD 351,770 and 5.7 million Sudanese pounds (around USD 128,000) from Bashir's home "which he acquired and used illegally", a judge told the court on August 31.

But Bashir said the seized funds were the remainder of the equivalent of USD 25 million received from Saudi Arabia's de facto leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

The funds, he said, were part of Sudan's strategic relations with Saudi Arabia and were "not used for private interests but as donations".

On Saturday, a ..