Sudan Launches Program to Protect Private Sector Employees from Corruption

A customer receives money from a teller inside the Bank of Khartoum, in Khartoum, Sudan. (Reuters)
A customer receives money from a teller inside the Bank of Khartoum, in Khartoum, Sudan. (Reuters)
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Sudan Launches Program to Protect Private Sector Employees from Corruption

A customer receives money from a teller inside the Bank of Khartoum, in Khartoum, Sudan. (Reuters)
A customer receives money from a teller inside the Bank of Khartoum, in Khartoum, Sudan. (Reuters)

Khartoum announced preparations to launch a counter-corruption program next April, which will vet Sudan’s private sector employees, estimated at about 75,000.

“This program will enable employees to become familiar with the management program used by companies around the world to assess internal fraud, corruption risks and external fraud,” said Sudan’s Al-Oula Center for Accounting Studies Director Adelah Mohammed Al-Tayeb.

The US Chamber of Commerce, during negotiations with Sudan in October, said that the implementation of the anti-corruption program will be the basis for trade between both private sectors and is vital for lifting sanctions.

The Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) oversees the anti-corruption program, as the US aims to ensure that the program is built in every country where it has commercial interests thereby ensuring that its trade partners have the ability to fight and prevent corruption.

Tayeb pointed out that the first phase of the program in Sudan will include the implementation of a technical survey of all employees in Sudanese companies and jobs listed in official state records.

The survey will cover 250 companies.

Sudanese banking sources said that most fraud risks and crimes, especially those which are financial, can be traced back to employees.

The risk of financial fraud is only possible through the falsification of documents, checks, counterfeiting, burglary and systems penetration to obtain the passwords of customer accounts.

“The concept of corruption is not limited to acts such as fraud and embezzlement. But greater efforts must be made to combat other forms of corruption, such as exploitation of status, conflict of interest, or financing private projects from public funds," said the journalist.

Head of the anti-corruption agency in Sudan, Al-Tayeb Mukhtar said that his country is currently preparing to complete the anti-corruption plan, which was approved by the Sudanese parliament several years ago.

One of the first steps in the fight against corruption in Sudan is establishing independent police prosecution.



Oil Edges Down amid Bearish Trump Tariff Outlook

A view shows disused oil pump jacks at the Airankol oil field operated by Caspiy Neft in the Atyrau Region, Kazakhstan April 2, 2025. REUTERS/Pavel Mikheyev/File Photo
A view shows disused oil pump jacks at the Airankol oil field operated by Caspiy Neft in the Atyrau Region, Kazakhstan April 2, 2025. REUTERS/Pavel Mikheyev/File Photo
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Oil Edges Down amid Bearish Trump Tariff Outlook

A view shows disused oil pump jacks at the Airankol oil field operated by Caspiy Neft in the Atyrau Region, Kazakhstan April 2, 2025. REUTERS/Pavel Mikheyev/File Photo
A view shows disused oil pump jacks at the Airankol oil field operated by Caspiy Neft in the Atyrau Region, Kazakhstan April 2, 2025. REUTERS/Pavel Mikheyev/File Photo

Oil prices declined moderately on Thursday as investors weighed the potential impact of US President Donald Trump's tariffs on global economic growth.

Brent crude futures were down 23 cents, or 0.3%, at $69.96 a barrel by 0904 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude fell 32 cents, or 0.5%, to $68.06 a barrel.

On Wednesday, Trump threatened Brazil, Latin America's largest economy, with a punitive 50% tariff on exports to the US, after a public spat with his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

He has also announced plans for tariffs on copper, semiconductors and pharmaceuticals and his administration sent tariff letters to the Philippines, Iraq and others, adding to over a dozen letters issued earlier in the week including for powerhouse US suppliers South Korea and Japan.

Trump's history of backpedaling on tariffs has caused the market to become less reactive to such announcements, said Harry Tchilinguirian, group head of research at Onyx Capital Group.

"People are largely in wait and see mode, given the erratic nature of policy making and the flexibility the administration is showing around tariffs," Tchilinguirian said.

Policymakers remain worried about the inflationary pressures from Trump's tariffs, with only "a couple" of officials at the Federal Reserve's June 17-18 meeting saying they felt interest rates could be reduced as soon as this month, minutes of the meeting released on Wednesday showed.

Higher interest rates make borrowing more expensive and reduce demand for oil, Reuters said.

Supporting oil prices however was a weaker US dollar in Thursday's Asia trading session, said OANDA senior analyst Kelvin Wong. A weaker dollar lifts oil prices by making it cheaper for holders of other currencies.

US crude stocks rose while gasoline and distillate inventories fell last week, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday. Gasoline demand rose 6% to 9.2 million barrels per day last week, the EIA said.

Global daily flights were averaging 107,600 in the first eight days of July, an all-time high, with flights in China reaching a five-month peak and port and freight activities indicating "sustained expansion" in trade activities from last year, JP Morgan said in a client note.

"Year to date, global oil demand growth is averaging 0.97 million barrels per day, in line with our forecast of 1 million barrels per day," the note said.

Additionally, there is doubt the recent increase in production quotas announced by OPEC+ will result in an actual increase in production, as some members are already exceeding their quotas, said Tony Sycamore, an analyst at IG.

"And others, like Russia, are unable to meet their targets due to damaged oil infrastructure," he said.

OPEC+ oil producers are set to approve another big output boost for September, as they complete both the unwinding of voluntary production cuts by eight members, and the United Arab Emirates' move to a larger quota.