NOUAKCHOTT, Feb 25, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Mauritanian prosecutors asked an appeals court Monday to sentence ex-president Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz to 20 years in prison for abuse of office and embezzlement, seeking to increase the original five-year sentence he is appealing.

Aziz, who led Mauritania from 2008 to 2019, was convicted in 2023 of using his power to amass a fortune.

The former leader "transformed the presidency into an office... for blackmailing investors", lead prosecutor Sidi Mohamed Ould Di Ould Moulay told the court.

He asked the court to dissolve the charity Rahma, an organisation he said was founded by Aziz's son with illicit ends.

Aziz, who has been in custody since his original trial began in January 2023, was appearing alongside several former top officials and advisers also facing charges of abuse of office, illicit enrichment, influence peddling and money laundering.

Aziz denies the charges. His lawyers are due to make their case Tuesday.

Investigators estimate Aziz, who led the northwest African country of 4.5 million people for more than a decade, accumulated assets and capital worth $70 million during his presidency.

He was found guilty and sentenced to five years in jail in December 2023. His lawyers appealed the sentence.

Aziz, who came to power in a 2008 coup, was excluded from the 2019 presidential election, won by his former right-hand man, Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani.

The former leader has since faced a flurry of legal woes. Ghazouani has repeatedly denied involvement in the decision to prosecute his ex-boss.