Mali Detains Ex–Prime Minister Choguel Maiga on Embezzlement Charges as Junta Tightens Crackdown

Mali’s former Prime Minister Choguel Maiga has been charged with embezzlement and placed in custody, as the country’s ruling military tightens its grip following fresh coup plot allegations.

The charges were announced on Tuesday after a hearing at Mali’s Supreme Court. According to prosecutors, the case involves “money laundering equal to many billions of CFA francs,” worth several million US dollars. Maiga was arrested a week earlier, just days after dozens of officers were detained in what the junta claimed was a plot to overthrow it.

Maiga, who became prime minister after the second coup in 2021 but was dismissed in November 2024 for criticizing the military’s refusal to set a clear timeline for returning power to civilians, will remain in prison until trial. His lawyer Cheick Oumar Konare said they are “calm while awaiting justice.”

Nine of Maiga’s former colleagues also appeared before the court, with two charged and others either acquitted or still awaiting decisions.

Earlier this month, another former prime minister, Moussa Mara, was jailed after expressing support for critics of the junta on social media.

Mali has been in turmoil since 2012, when extremist groups linked to al-Qaeda and ISIL expanded violence across the Sahel. Thousands have been killed, hundreds of thousands displaced, and the government’s authority remains fragile — even near Bamako, where armed groups still operate.

Under Colonel Assimi Goita, who led both the 2020 and 2021 coups, Mali’s military has repeatedly delayed civilian transition deadlines, dissolved political parties, and pushed through legislation granting Goita a renewable five-year mandate without elections.

Critics say Maiga’s arrest signals the junta’s insecurity.

The junta has replaced Maiga with General Abdoulaye Maiga, previously the government’s spokesman. Meanwhile, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger have quit the ECOWAS bloc, creating their own Alliance of Sahel States (AES) with a 5,000-strong joint force to combat armed groups.