El Geneina, November 21 (Darfur24)
Security forces in El Geneina, the capital of West Darfur state, fired live ammunition on Wednesday to disperse armed individuals after a “goodwill” reconciliation session collapsed amid tensions over a major financial fraud case involving the manager of a local trading company.
The company’s director had allegedly defrauded dozens of merchants of large sums of money before fleeing the country. He was later arrested in a neighboring state and extradited to El Geneina.
Sources told Darfur24 that Rapid Support Forces (RSF) intelligence units conducted extensive interrogations with the suspect before handing him over to the Federal Police in preparation for his trial and the recovery of the merchants’ funds.
Meanwhile, a community initiative led by the local administration attempted to mediate between the merchants and the company manager and sought an amicable settlement after the manager declared bankruptcy. However, the parties failed to resolve, and the meeting devolved into gunfire before authorities intervened to restore order.
Last July, Darfur24 reported on the disappearance of the director of the “Al-Nadhir for Multi-Activities” trading company following his involvement in large-scale currency speculation and borrowing from traders in West Darfur, estimated at more than 20 trillion Sudanese pounds. Security forces at the time arrested two of his assistants.
Merchants, including some from Chad, filed multiple complaints with authorities in El Geneina demanding the return of the money they had invested in transactions and speculative deals with the company.
Al-Nadhir Multi-Activities Company had recently gained prominence in El Geneina, conducting humanitarian and cultural activities that received official attention and participation from state executives and security officials. This contributed to the trust placed in the company by many local economic actors.
The scandal has sparked widespread debate in El Geneina about the company’s background, the identity of those behind it, and the roles played by various parties in enabling its operations.